The first botanical garden

The botanic garden may not be huge but it has a very important claim to fame – it was the first in the world. But you can still visit it today.

Written by Michael Turtle

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle. A journalist for more than 20 years, he's been travelling the world since 2011.

Michael Turtle is the founder of Time Travel Turtle and has been travelling full time for a decade.

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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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy
Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Padua Botanic Garden, Italy
Padua Botanic Garden, Italy

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.

Even the tour groups that come here are respectful. Actually, a tour is a great way to discover Padua and I would recommend one of these:

 

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.

UNESCO logo

This site is on the UNESCO World Heritage List!
I'm on a mission to visit as many World Heritage Sites as I can. Only about 800 more to go... eek!

26 thoughts on “The first botanical garden”

    • 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.

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  1. 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!)

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    • 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.

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    • 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.

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  2. 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.

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    • 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 🙂

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  3. 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!

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    • 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!

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  4. 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.

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  5. 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.

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    • 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?

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    • 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.

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  6. 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.

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    • 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.

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  7. I’m going to Padova in a few months and plan to visit the garden – seems like a nice place to relax and recharge for a little while. I love places that aren’t top tourist attractions – the fewer crowds the better I usually enjoy the space, whether garden, museum, or ruin.

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  8. Padua is the western world’s oldest botanical gardens still in its original location, but Pisa is where the first botanical gardens were created and financed by Cosimo di Medici in 1544 – a year prior to Padua – however it moved twice in 1563 and again in 1591 to its present location.

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