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This botanical garden was established in 1828 by Vincenzo Ottaviani, Professor of Botany at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Camerino. He chose an area with pre-existing gardens and uncultivated patches, on the edge of the historical centre of town.
An inventory of 1835 shows that 1096 trees and shrubs were cultivated there, in addition to those along the avenues, and 887 ground and pot plants.

Born as an instructional for the university, the garden now contributes to the conservation of endangered species and the dissemination of scientific culture – also offering valuable support to schools, students and teachers.
Facing south-east towards the Sibillini Mountains, the garden covers 2.5 acres at the foot of the walls of the Doge’s Palace, 88 ft below the city; it can be accessed both from viale Oberdan and from the overhanging Renaissance loggias of the Doge’s Palace, known as “Loggette dei Governatori” – by a famous spiral staircase of 106 steps built by Pope Pius V in 1568; in the middle of the staircase, there are two rooms used as classrooms for exhibitions and activities.
At the base of the staircase and along the garden perimeter walls, there are natural caves (called “grottoni”), partly dug in the sandstone banks which are also the foundations of the Doge’s Palace.

The Garden is divided into two main sections: the one located on a slope, with a XIX century layout and centuries-old trees arranged in a grove, and the flat one, planted with herbaceous, shrub and tree species divided into themed areas. Two circular fountains decorate the garden along with a XIX century terracotta statue and Gino Marotta’s “Vegetal Universe” ironwork.
Since 2012, the Garden has been acknowledged as a Monumental Plant Formation by the Marche Region, thanks to its tree specimens that date back to the time of its very creation.

Plants

Despite its small size, this garden has a remarkable variety of different environments.
In the flat part, officinal plants (including Datura stramonium, Atropa belladonna, Hyssopus officinalis aristatus) are cultivated in square flower beds, along with spontaneous and ornamental species.
The spontaneous species belong to the typical flora of the central Apennines (Apennine rocks), the flora of the sub-vertical limestone wall, the garrigue, the pond, the tree and shrub species of the central Apennines. Other flower beds are used for bulbous varieties.

-Among the spontaneous plants, there are Cardamine monteluccii, Juniperus sabina, Asphodeline liburnica, and Arum lucanum.

Aquatic plants include Acorus calamus, Menyanthes trifoliata, Caltha palustris, Azolla filiculoides, Carex caespitosa, and Carex appropinquata.