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The Botanical Garden of the University of Turin, located in Valentino park, belongs to the Department of Plant Biology. The history of a university botanical garden in Piedmont dates back to 1560, the year of the establishment of a “Lettura dei Semplici” (a research department covering botany, pharmacognosy and pharmacology) at Mondovì Studio – in 1566 it was transferred to Turin. In the following years, its importance decreased dramatically due to wars and the impoverishment of the court.

In 1729, Vittorio Amedeo II built the new Orto Regio, with the aim of disseminating knowledge and cultivating plants, emphasizing their origins, appearances, applications and unique features. “Lettura dei Semplici” was thus replaced by the “Chair of Botany” which started the studies of the local spontaneous species and on the exotic ones.

Initially, the garden covered about 8.371 square yards, divided into two rectangular sectors; in 1729, it was enlarged with some other 18.000 square yards, separating the oldest area – called “the “garden” with a building housing the orangery on the lower floor and a museum and a herbarium on the upper floor.

In 1831, cold greenhouses, orange tree shelters for the winter and the warm rooms in the basement were built; the latter proved vital for the cultivation of tropical plants. A hundred tree species were arranged in the northern area of the building, called the “grove”. Some specimens from that period can still be admired today, such as Tilia tomentosa and Liriodendron tulipifera.

At the end of the XIX century, the building was further expanded, with the construction of a large classroom, laboratories and a larger room for the herbarium, to the detriment of the vegetable garden which lost somespace; in 1929, other spaces were built for Pharmaceutical Botany and the Library.

In addition to the greenhouse dedicated to orchidaceae and bromeliads, as well as the one reserved for succulent plants, a new one was built in 2007 to house a vast collection of pelargonium with specimens coming from all over the world (40 species planted on the ground and 25 in the pots ) – this very collection is very well documented with plenty of information panels.

The Restructuring

Since 1995, a complete renovation project of the garden has been undertaken. Today, there’s a path for visually impaired visitors and a section dedicated to medicinal plants. The flower beds have been set up with systematic collections, while the “Boschetto” has been rearranged with the introduction of plain wood species, endemic to the western areas of the Po River Valley.

In 2007, the construction of a new large greenhouse in the garden area was completed: it now hosts several plants from South Africa.
Since 1997, the year when it was opened to the public, the garden has been constantly customized and improved, thus becoming a vital tool for scientific research, as well as a precious repository of valuable knowledge and information. Every year, about 8.000-10.000 visitors enjoy and admire some 4.000 plant species now growing in this incredible garden.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)