The Padua Botanic Garden, Italy
There was a time when the botanical garden at Padua was the biggest in the world; when it was the greatest in the world; and when it was the only one in the world. None of those things is true these days.
But like the soil in the garden that brings life to the rare and exotic plants, the idea behind the site at Padua was to be the foundation for all future botanical gardens around the globe. It was the first to ever be created and it changed the way humans and plants interacted when it was opened in 1545 in the north-eastern Italian city.
The Padua Botanical Garden was created for scientific research – the same thing it is still used for today. Back then it was mainly about medicinal uses for the plants but over the centuries it has played its part in the evolution of botany, pharmacy, medicine and ecology.
When UNESCO listed the site on the World Heritage List, it said the garden “represents the birth of science, of scientific exchanges, and understanding of the relationship between nature and culture”. That’s a pretty impressive description for what could be mistaken for a small park.
It’s not a big site, you see. I’ve been to some botanical gardens around the world that are large stretches of land with carefully landscaped terrain, small forests, and lakes. Not this one.
The main part of the garden is only 86 metres in diameter. Within that area, half the space if probably taken up with paths. There are no rolling grassy hills or shaded paths for joggers. This is, and has always been, a pure scientific research centre.
That’s not to say it is not beautifully designed. Although there have been additions over the centuries, the original layout has been preserved. The centre garden is in a vaguely circular shape with two large paths cutting it into quadrants. That is then surrounded by a ring of water. The design represents our world – the water is symbolic of the barrier which separates Earth from the rest of matter; and inside that barrier are collected specimens of the most impressive plants that make up our natural world.
The world’s first botanic garden
Padua is not a particularly busy city. There is a nice, slow rhythm to the way of life. But you can still notice the change in the atmosphere when you walk into the garden. It is like stepping back to 1545, when everything first came into being. The workers who are tending to the gardens don’t have any mechanical equipment. To water the plants, one man walks with a bucket to a fountain in a stone wall, collects the water that is flowing out the head of a statue lion, and carries it back to pour. He repeats the motions over.
Everything is quiet, shielded from the traffic noises by subsequent additions to the garden that include a ring of rainforest-style plants. Students walk through with notebooks, tourists take photos and some elderly locals sit on the benches and pass time. No one makes much noise, though.
It’s strange to think what an impact this small garden had on science. We take botanical gardens for granted these days, but it’s important to remember there was a time when it was quite a radical suggestion to create something like this. We are all better for it.
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more info click here.
You can see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited here.
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Turtle, like the name suggests, likes to take things slowly. Luckily that's one of the best ways to see the world - and that's exactly what he's doing at the moment.
This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.
24 Responses
Despite our site’s name, I have the least green thumb you can imagine, so I’m always enraptured by beautiful botanical gardens. Wish I’d seen this when I was in Italy.
It’s a real highlight of the region. Even though it’s quite small and not nearly as dramatic as many other botanical gardens, the history makes it all worthwhile.
Lovely place. Those sage plants are a lot bigger than mine. But what on earth has happened to your social share buttons? I can’t even share it on Twitter:)
Italian Notes recently posted..The Battle of Ortona
With the amount of time and care they put in, you would hope their plants would be better than any of ours!
As to the sharing buttons, I think they’re still working. Maybe just broken at the time.
My gardening ability largely comes down to being able to pull things up, and mow things down. I’m doing my best to grow some chilli bushes at the moment, but I’m not hopeful. As Bret says – it’s always amazing to see what people who know what they are doing can achieve! (I must also admit that that picture of the guy with the bucket looked totally like he was just having a wee in the bush before I had a closer look!)
Laurence recently posted..Free music at France’s Fête de la Musique
My theory is that if a plant can’t look after itself, it doesn’t deserve to live. I don’t believe in a welfare state for herbs. But it’s still quite impressive to see something like this.
Oh i love that this is a healing garden! It has such a good purpose and looks so pretty as well.
These days it’s the big drug companies that we go to for our medicine… hundreds of years ago it was gardeners like this. It’s quite a cool thought.
I like the garden here. I had no idea it was the first botanical garden but the size and beauty already make me like Padua.
Jeremy Branham recently posted..Find your freedom – where travel meets life
Padua was a cool little city. The gardens suited it… laid back, healthy, clean…
I love that this place remains small and hand-tended! There’s a romance to it that some of the sprawling botanical gardens lack.
Karen @ Trans-Americas Journey recently posted..Scaling a Volcano & Hanging with a Soccer Star – Santa Ana, El Salvador
You’re right. It’s not the kind of place you would sit and have a picnic, or anything like that. But it’s retained its original philosophy and you really have to respect that.
That is really very cool. Padua is a sister city to Freiburg and we have a street named after them. I really like plants and have a decent ability to keep them alive on our balcony. I am also a great fan of universities and learning. This looks like a really great place for all those.
Andrew recently posted..Dubrovnik Vertically
In that case, this seems like the perfect place for you! Maybe you should convince some of the people in Freiburg to send you to Padua so you can check up on the l’il sister
The birthplace of science! Incredible and so true. We are becoming so removed, but without Padua and places like it, modern medicine could never have evolved to what it is today. Thanks for sharing this, had no idea about it before!
Jess | Globetrottergirls recently posted..Life on the water: A floating village on Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia
It’s nice to remember sometimes where things came from and what life was like before everything was mass-produced with modern technology. Plants don’t get enough credit for their medicinal uses!
Wonderful, I always love to be surrounded by nature. Unlike zoo, I enjoy visiting botanical gardens, they are a lovely way to get closer to nature if you live in a big city.
Angela recently posted..A trip, a photo – Boroneddu murals, street art in Sardinia
You really forget you’re in a city when you’re in the gardens.
The more time I spend with indigenous cultures I realize that nature and medicine have such a strong connection. And even as we strive for more synthetic advancements, sometimes the medicine we need is in our garden.
Ayngelina recently posted..Thoughts from a traveling spinster on her birthday
I know what you mean. I used to be very sceptical about Chinese medicine and herbal remedies… now I can see that’s where all medicine originates from anyway. Why not do it in a more natural way?
Can’t believe how long it has been around for! That is awesome. I like that it is not a sprawling mess either and just a smaller area.
Cole @ Four Jandals recently posted..Live Blogging from Venice – #fjVENICE
I like to think they kept it small purely to maintain the heritage… but I think they’re probably also restricted by the development that now surrounds it. It’s right in the middle of the city.
It’s great to see some history and culture being preserved. Instead of mass producing flowers for the tourists, they stick to the original purpose. I like that.
Rease recently posted..Food Friday: Route 66 Stop: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
It certainly wasn’t a tourist trap, by any means. I don’t think many international visitors to the city even realise it exists. It seemed mainly like locals and students were there the day I was.