The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, also known as the Orto Botanico di Modena or formerly Hortus Botanicus Mutinensis, is 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. is ...

operated by the

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1175, with a population of 20,000 students. The medieval university disappeared by ...

. It is located next to the Garden Ducale (Public Gardens), at viale Caduti in Guerra 127,

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and open weekdays during the warmer months except August. Admission is free. The garden was established in 1758 by Duke

Francesco III d'Este Francesco III d'Este (Francesco Maria; 2 July 1698 – 22 February 1780) was Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 until his death. Biography He was born in Modena, the son of Rinaldo d'Este, Duke of Modena, and Duche ...

for medicinal plants, becoming part of the university in 1772. The garden is an irregular shape, almost 1 hectare in size, with several greenhouses (total area 300 m²) running in a line across the garden's center. It currently contains about 1,400

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

plus a major

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

. The principal outdoor areas are: * "Montagnola" - "mountains" with an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

of almost 200 woody plants, including

Abies cephalonica ''Abies cephalonica'', commonly known as Greek fir or Cephalonian Fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north i ...

Aesculus hippocastanum ''Aesculus hippocastanum'', the horse chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the maple, Sapindus, soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large, deciduous, synoecious (hermaphroditic-flowered) tree. It is also called horse-chestnu ...

Fagus sylvatica ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the Fagaceae, beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' i ...

Gleditsia triacanthos The honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey ...

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain v ...

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...

, and Q. ilex. * Parterre-School - over 2000 m², dating to 1772, principally flowerbeds arranged radially around a central pool with shrubs and herbaceous plants. It currently contains about 700 species, mainly European, including

aquilegia ''Aquilegia'', commonly known as columbines, is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae (buttercups). The genus includes between 80 and 400 taxa (described species and subspecies) with natural Species distribution, rang ...

dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...

, iris (over 100 species),

potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family (biology), family, Rosaceae. Potentillas m ...

, and

salvia ''Salvia'' () is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with just under 1,000 species of shrubs, Herbaceous plant, herbaceous Perennial plant, perennials, and Annual plant, annuals. Within the Lamiaceae, ''Salvia'' is part o ...

. * Lowlands - irregular flowerbeds, gravel paths, and stone sidewalks. Greenhouses are as follows: * Serre Ducale - the garden's most important building, built for winter storage of tender plants, recently adapted to also cultivate tropical species. * Succulent Plant Greenhouse (mid 1980s) - primarily

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s. * "Serretta" (1994) - miscellaneous (

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlo ...

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...

, etc.)

References

Hortus Botanicus Mutinensis (Italian)

Museale della Provincia di Modena (Italian)
* Carlo Del Prete et al., "The Modena Botanic Garden: Plant Conservation and Habitat Management Strategies", in ''Nature Conservation: Concepts and Practice'', Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Orto Botanico dell'Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia Botanical gardens in Italy Buildings and structures in Modena 1758 establishments in Italy Gardens in Emilia-Romagna

See also

References