Established in the mid-nineteenth century, the Botanical Gardens of Catania are an important scientific institution home to unique collections of succulents, palms and spontaneous Sicilian plants.
The institution of the Orto Botanico was strongly promoted by monk Francesco Tornabene, professor of Botany at the University of Catania since 1843 . A suitable location for the gardens was found in the Borgo district, along today’s Via Etnea, and bought in January 1847. Due to the 1848 uprisings, work was only started only in July 1858. The designs for the buildings were entrusted to Mario Distefano, professor of Architecture in the same university, and the first plants from Sweden, France, Naples and Palermo were planted in 1862. In 1865 The Orto Botanico saw the addition of collections of cotton and tobacco plants and, thanks to a bequest from Mario Coltraro from Catania, came to include a whole area inteded for spontaneous Sicilian flora. In 1906 director Luigi Buscalioni promoted an extension of the institution introducing a new flora organisation based on Engler’s taxonomy instead of Linneaus’. The area is divided into a 13000-square-meter “Hortus Generalis” home to exotic plants, and a 3000-square-meter “Hortus Siculus” intended for the cultivation of local spontaneous species. The oldest section of the gardens is organised in geometrically defined sections, forming a cross with small winding paths that meet in irregular openings, some of which contain circular ponds, giving the garden an overall formal structure. The Orto Botanico also features a large greenhouse, reconstructed in keeping with the original that was destroyed during the last war.
Highlights
The “Hortus Siculus”
This section, instituted in 1865, with its collection of spontaneous island plants, is a protected area for rare and endangered species. It features small-scale reproductions of various typical Mediterranean habitats (dunes, rocks, damp habitats, woods scrub) recreating various aspects of the Sicilian landscape.
Succulent plants
Succulent plants constitute the richest Orto Botanico collection with about 2000 species, mainly cacti, euphorbias, and aizoaceae. The aloe collection is also of note with dozens of species, mostly South African, arborescent and shrubs, that produce large clusters of brightly coloured flowers. The euphorbias collection includes remarkable specimens of huge Euphorbia abyssinica and E. candelabrum.
The “Tepidarium”
This large greenhouse holding over 160 ornamental and edible plant species, is a reproduction of the original iron and glass greenhouse – an imitation of the Carolina Greenhouse in Palermo – that was destroyed during World War II. The central pond with the delicate lotus plants is particularly spectacular.
Exotic plants
Among the most remarkable specimens living in the Orto Botanico since its foundation are some very large trees, such as the Taxodium mucronatum cypress with its reddish bark; the Phytolacca dioica, a majestic tree originally from South America; theMaclura pomifera, also known as Osage orange, from the name of the Indian tribe who, when in war, coloured their faces with a yellow pigment extracted from the roots of the plant.