Pisa Botanical Garden and Museum

Fun Facts

• • A Ginkgo biloba tree planted in 1787 still thrives here, standing as one of the oldest and most impressive specimens in the garden.
• • During the 19th century, the garden shifted its organisational focus to highlight biological relationships and evolutionary affinities, moving away from simple aesthetic arrangements.
• • In its early centuries, the layout of the garden was inspired by the four elements, with geometric flowerbeds shaped as squares, circles, and triangles.
• • It features a dedicated collection of over 150 species of Salvia, showcasing the impressive diversity of just this single plant genus.
• • One of the garden's iconic features, a massive California palm, was planted in 1877 and continues to reach towards the sky as a landmark of the site.
• • The Palazzina delle Conchiglie, or Shell Building, earned its name from the 1752 facade that is entirely decorated with intricate patterns made from shells.
• • The garden is home to a Wollemia nobilis, a rare 'dinosaur tree' that was only discovered in the modern era and dates back to prehistoric times.
• • The museum houses a unique collection of 19th-century wax models of mushrooms and fruits, created by Luigi Calamai, which were used for scientific education before the era of modern photography.
• • The original name was the Garden of the Simples, which refers to the medicinal plants known as simples used in apothecary practices.
• • This is officially the oldest university botanical garden in the entire world, established to help medical students study the healing properties of plants.