The Arboreti di Vallombrosa (about 12 hectares) are seven

arboreta An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

located within the Forest Demaniale Vallombrosa near the historic

Vallombrosa Abbey Vallombrosa is a Benedictine abbey in the ''comune'' of Reggello (Tuscany, Italy), about 30 km south-east of Florence, in the Apennines, surrounded by forests of beech and firs. It was founded by Florentine nobleman Giovanni Gualberto in 10 ...

founded in 1036 by St.

John Gualbert Giovanni Gualberto (c. 985 – 12 July 1073) was an Italian Roman Catholic abbot and the founder of the Vallumbrosan Order. Born into a noble family, Gualberto was a predictably vain individual who sought pleasure in vanities and romantic intri ...

of Visdomini, heavenly patron of the Italian Forestry Corps. They are located in Vallombrosa,

Reggello Reggello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence, between the north-western side of Pratomagno and the Upper Valdarno. The municipality borders ...

Province of Florence The province of Florence ( it, provincia di Firenze) was a province in the northeast of Tuscany region of Italy. The city or ''comune'' of Florence was both the capital of the Province of Florence, and of the Region of Tuscany. It had an area of ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, operated by the Carabinieri Department for Biodiversity of Vallombrosa. During the summer months there are free guided tours every day, in all other periods upon prior request. The arboreta date back to 1869 at another location, or to 1884 in the current location, when 230 plants were transferred in a move of the Regio Istituto Superiore Forestale's headquarters within the Vallombrosa forest. New sections were added in 1885-1886, and in 1891 a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

was created; unfortunately it was abandoned in 1914 and nothing remains today but a tub. In 1894 another section was added on the Masso del Diavolo to provide a suitable environment for Mediterranean species. Severe bombing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

badly damaged the arboreta, but they have since recovered. Today the arboreta currently contain more than 5,000 specimens belonging to more than 1200

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of trees and shrubs, representing 137

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, and claim to be Italy's most important collection of plants cultivated for scientific and experimental purposes. They encompass seven distinct arboreta organized into 50 sections. The arboreta are as follows: * Arboreto "di Bérenger" (1869, area 1.32 hectares) * Arboreto "Siemoni" (1880, area 0.34 hectares) * Arboreto "Tozzi" (1886, area 3.00 hectares) * Arboreto "Gellini" (1894, 3 hectares), on the Masso del Diablo * Arboreto "Perona" (1914, area 0.97 hectares) * Arboreto "Pavari" (1923-1958, area 2.10 hectares) * Arboreto "Allegri" (1976, 1 hectare) Arboreti di Vallombrosa

References

Arboreti di Vallombrosa

Cultura Toscana article

* Bernabei G., Gellini R., Gius G., Grossoni P., Rinallo C., Tocci A., "L'arboreto di Masso del Diavolo a Vallombrosa", ''Annali Ist. Sper. di Selvicoltura'', 11: 165-190, 1980. * Piccioli L., "Gli Arboreti Sperimentali di Vallombrosa", ''Tip. Ricci'', Firenze, 1917.
La Riserva Naturale Biogenetica di Vallombrosa
(in Italian) {{coord, 43, 43, 55, N, 11, 33, 18, E, type:forest_region:IT-52, display=title Botanical gardens in Italy Gardens in Tuscany Arboreta Reggello

See also

References