Botanical garden

by Massimo Visone

The original Royal Garden of Plants, established in 1807 "for education and the multiplication of species useful for health, agriculture, and industry," was the brainchild of the botanist Michele Tenore and was decreed by Giuseppe Bonaparte. However, plans for a botanical garden had been conceived by Ferdinando IV, only to be thwarted by the events of 1799. The Botanical Garden represents the culmination of a long botanical tradition, with its key figures playing a significant role in shaping Naples' gardens. Today, this university centre, home to the Department of Biological Sciences, houses some of Europe's most important scientific collections in terms of the number and quality of specimens. It covers an area of approximately 12 hectares and cultivates around 9,000 plant species, totalling almost 25,000 specimens. These specimens are organized into collections based on systematic, ecological, and ethnobotanical criteria. During World War II and the earthquake of 1980, the complex served as a refuge for the population affected by the conflict and later the earthquake, resulting in the collapse of many structures. Paolo De Luca deserves credit for rebuilding one of Naples' most captivating places. The institute was part of Napoleon's redesign of Via Foria, the modern entrance road to the city. In 1805, the original garden in the Monteoliveto monastery was provisionally designated as an "educational botanical garden." From 1808, the garden was situated in the area between the Albergo dei Poveri and Santa Maria degli Angeli alle Croci. Architect Giuliano de Fazio, in 1810, created an elevated tree-lined walkway dedicated to Queen Carolina on an artificial terrace. Since 1815 Vincenzo Paolotti was entrusted with the completion of the complex; he was responsible for the façade with flat rustication and the double-flight staircase, similar to the one located nearby, which was designed by Ferdinando Fuga. The garden, extended to the adjacent grounds of the reclusorio (also known as Albergo dei poveri), adopted an innovative layout for the plant collections. Along the slopes bordering the square beds for medicinal plants, various plant groupings from different geographical regions were cultivated, arranged according to the style of an English garden. The attached plan from the inaugural speech publication in 1818 reveals on one side the Monticello di Minerva (Mound of Minerva), the Labirinto di Bacco (Labyrinth of Bacchus), the Prato del Cipresso (Cypress Meadow), and the Cerchio della Minerva (Circle of Minerva), and on the other side the Monticelli del Platano (Mounds of the Plane Tree), the Valletta (Small Valley), and the Boschetto inglese di alberi indigeni ed esotici (English grove of native and exotic trees). Subsequent restoration work, overseen by director Guglielmo Gasparrini in 1836–1838 and 1861–1866, modified the complex in order to align with the new demands of research. Following a path that starts from the main staircase, standing to the left is the neoclassical building (1913–1920) designed by Camillo Guerra for the Botanical Institute, now housing the Section of Plant Biology, the laboratories, and the Herbarium. To the right is the area dedicated to epiphytic plants, which are typical of tropical rainforests; a little further on is the rectangular pond for aquatic plants, and to the west is the rich Palmetum. Ascending the main avenue, to the right is the Arboretum, featuring woody species native to different environments, including a Caucasian tree with a base circumference of approximately five metres, an Australian tree with papery bark, and the distinctive pagoda tree originating from Iran. At the end of the avenue, a spectacular double circular staircase encloses plants from the Mediterranean scrub. Here stands the bust of Domenico Cirillo, a physician and botanist to whom the main axis of the complex is dedicated. Bordering the staircase area are the gymnosperms and a 1960s amphitheatre structure for succulents. Continuing upwards, the best-preserved section of the neoclassical layout can be reached. A marble basin with water lilies is placed at the centre of the circular space, defined by a railing with piperno pillars and four benches with Neo-doric supports on a terracotta flooring. In the background, the monumental greenhouse – named after the director Aldo Merola – houses tropical and subtropical plants, acting as a temperate heater. Designed by de Fazio, the building consists of six Tuscan half columns attached to pilasters, along with two additional pairs at the ends. The frieze is adorned with thirty metopes depicting plant species dating back to the time of construction, while at the base there are linear and semicircular clusters of pots designed for bulbous plants, which are placed on steps. In the late 1960s, to the northwest the Luigi Califano Greenhouses were established in the vineyard area, dedicated to the eponymous physician and botany enthusiast – passed away in 1976 – who possessed a significant global collection of Cycadales with specimens from ninety different species. To the east, descending from the street named after Fridiano Cavara, who served as director from 1906 to 1929, the Filiceto can be reached, i.e. a small valley created in 1864 for cryptogamic and alpine plants, which recreates the necessary conditions for cultivating an exceptional collection of tree ferns. Facing the citrus orchard is a 16th-century square-shaped castle with surviving cylindrical towers, originally intended for a school but now housing the Museum of Palaeobotany and Ethnobotany. Next are the Magnoliophyta area, the Experimental Station for medicinal plants (1933), dedicated to the study of pharmacologically and industrially useful plants, and the Swiss house, with experimental fields and a nursery.

From the volume "Passeggiando per la Federico II" (second updated edition) edited by Alessandro Castagnaro - photographs by Roberto Fellicò - FedOAPress