Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino

Coordinates: 45°03′24″N 7°40′52″E / 45.05667°N 7.68111°E / 45.05667; 7.68111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino

The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino (2.6 hectares) is a

Po River, at Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, Turin, Italy
, and open weekends and holidays during the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.

The garden's origins can be traced as far back as 1560, when collections of live plants were established at the Studio di Mondovì, which moved to the university in 1566. Today's garden dates to 1713, when

Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
established the Orto Regio. With establishment in 1729 of the university's chair in botany, held by G.B. Caccia, it legally became a part of the university.

Between 1730 and 1731 the garden was laid out in a geometric plan of flowerbeds within the

Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia donated areas west and north of the castello, bringing the garden's area to somewhat larger than its current extent. By 1810 the garden contained about 6000 cultivated plants, with an arboretum organized on its northern section (the boschetto), and the constructions of greenhouses, orangery, and herbarium
. Between 1831 and 1839 further construction added more greenhouses, and in 1848 a substantial orangery.

But the subsequent century saw considerable diminution of the garden. After 1876 various greenhouses were demolished to make way for laboratories, in 1892–1893 garden space was lost to further building, and in 1929, 1969, and 1977 additional greenhouses were eliminated. The garden was extensively damaged, with loss of collections, during World War I and World War II by neglect and bombings. However, the garden is now recovering. Prof. Bruno Peyronel introduced an alpine garden in 1962–1963, in 1969 a new greenhouse was built for tropical and subtropical species, in 1986 another greenhouse added for succulent plants, and in 2006 another for South African plants.

Today the garden proper cultivates around 2000 species, with an additional 300 species in the alpine garden, about 500 species in the arboretum, and a further 1000 species in greenhouses. The garden contains the following major sections:

The arboretum contains the following major areas:

It also contains notable specimens of

.

See also

References

  • www.ortobotanico.unito.it
  • O. Mattirolo, Cronistoria dell'Orto Botanico (Valentino) della R. Università di Torino, Tipo-Lito Luigi Checchini, Torino, 1929.
  • F. Montacchini, "L'Orto Botanico", L'Università di Torino, Profilo storico e istituzionale, edited by F. Traniello, Pluriverso, Torino, 1993.
  • Caramiello Carlo, Fossa Valeria, Dall'orto all'erbario / L'orto botanico dell'Università di Torino, storia e attualità, Neos-Tipolito Subalpina, 2008. .

45°03′24″N 7°40′52″E / 45.05667°N 7.68111°E / 45.05667; 7.68111