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The Botanical Garden of Lucca

Lucca, Orto Botanico
Lucca, Orto Botanico

The Botanical Garden in Lucca is a place of enchantment located between the walls and the city, with the branches of its tall trees linking the earth to the sky. In 1813, the Department of Medicine and the Encouragement Committee of Lucca proposed the institution of a Botanical Garden which would have the aim of cultivating, and so preserving, the plant species of the Lucchese, especially those of the medicinal variety. The structure was to have a director, a gardener and an annual allocation of funds for the running of the site. In an early phase, it was thought to locate the Botanical Garden near the old theatre, then switching the idea to the courtyard of the suppressed convent of San Romano, and finally deciding on the area annexed to the church of Santa Maria Foris Portam.

In February 1814, Élisa approved the foundation of the city garden but in March of that year the Princes were forced to leave Lucca and the project remained incomplete. It was not until the government of Marie Louise of Bourbon that the project would be carried out, as a secondary structure of the Royal University of Lucca, opened 5 November 1819. But it was again suppressed in 1847 with the unification of the Duchy with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Instituted and funded together with the Botanical Garden were an Astronomy Observatory and a Physics Laboratory.

The Lucca Botanical Garden is subdivided into a number of sectors: the arboretum, which for the most part contains exotic trees and shrubs; a small lake, which also hosts local fauna; the ericaceae, with more than 200 species; the knoll, where one finds mountain species native to the areas around Lucca and Pisa; native species used for culinary purposes; medicinal plants; the greenhouses, with numerous species from intertropical areas and the seed house, with a collection of seeds ready for exchange with other botanical gardens. The plant mascot of the Garden is a cedar of Lebanon more than 6 metres in circumference and 22 metres tall, with a crown that extends over a surface area of around 500 metres square. It was planted in 1822 by Paolo Volpi, the first director of the Lucca Garden.

Botanical Garden
via del Giardino botanico, 14
Lucca

The Botanical Garden is open according to the following schedule
3 November to 19 March: open by reservation Monday to Friday 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM (except holidays)
20 March to 30 April and 15 September to 2 November: 10 AM to 5 PM
1 May to 30 June: 10 AM to 6
1 July to 16 September: 10 AM to 7 PM
The periods during which the Garden is open are subject to change based on the season and on holidays. Before visiting the Garden it is always best to confirm by telephone that it will be open for your visit.

Admission ticket
3.00 euros full

Tel. +39 0583 583086
info@ortobotanicodilucca.it