The Royal Botanical Garden of Naples, Italy is a research facility of the University of Naples Federico II.
The premises take up about 15 hectares and are located on via Foria, adjacent to the gigantic old Albergo dei Poveri, the Royal Hospice for the Poor under the Bourbon dynasty. The facility is part of the university’s Department of Natural Science. It is one of the many scientific and educational facilities instituted under French rule in Naples (1806–15). The Garden opened in 1810.
Mission of Naples Botanical Garden
The actual work done by the Botanical Garden is mainly research, teaching and the conservation of rare species or those at risk of extinction besides the cultivation and presentation of museum collections and the organization of artistic and cultural exhibitions.
The teaching carried out at the Botanical Garden not only applies to university students but also to secondary school and college students. Guided visits are conducted by specialized personel every year. Annual courses are organized for the teaching body enabling it to qualify in the methods used by the Botanical Garden and about its collection.
The conservation and protection of rare entities, endemic i.e. on the way to becoming extinct, is an activity that as time passes has become more and more important in the Partenopean Garden. There are collections of plants that are becoming rarer in their natural environment for example the cycladales and the arboreous ferns. Live endemic entities growing in the Campania region are also cultivated for example Kochia saxicola and Primula palinuri and others that have disappeared from their natural environment such as the Ipomea imperati. These local species are reproduced and multiplied in order to obtain a substantial number to be used in an eventual reintroduction into nature if these species should disappear from their natural sites
Ethnobotanical section
In the ethnobotanical section there is a display of manufactured articles of vegetal origin from the Amazon, Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Phillipines Islands, Borneo, Sumatra and Vietnam and in the next time from Africa and India. The exposition of these objects is done in a way which emphasizes the relationship between some ethnic groups and the vegetal elements in their surrounding environment.
In the show cases the vegetal species used to manufacture the objects are described and also the way in which they are used domestically, agriculturally, for hunting and for curing. The material is divided according to subject matter i.e. dedicated to hunting, to fishing, to music, to the making of ornaments, to agriculture, to domestic activities etc. The variety of ways in which some plants are used are noted in each display case.
Every exhibit is accompanied by a label with its native name, a brief note about its use as well as the local and scientific name of the plants used for its fabrication. Together with the objects and notes there are (when available) exhibits of articles in various stages of manufacture and the raw materials used in their making eg. fibres, stems, trunks, barks, seeds, fruit etc.
Numerous illustrations enable us to observe the plants in their natural habitat and in the different stages of their manufacture (eg. cultivation, the intertwining of fibres, weaving). Other photographs show phases of use in daily life such as ritual curing, the preparation of vegetal and food poisons . Wooden panels and posters illustrate things of a wider interest for example the useful palms, the extraction of sago, wild edible plants, medicinal plants, guarana and the use of Dipterocarpaceae.
Visit the Botanical Garden of Naples
Entry and Guided visits are Free
The Botanical Garden of Naples is open to the public from Monday to Friday: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9.00am until 2.00pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9.00 am until 4.00pm. If you want to make a visit please call the following number +39 081- 2533937 and leave your surname and the number of people wanting to visit. This can be done on the same day that you wish to visit. The Entry is free.
Note: Admission without reservation on Wednesdays and Thursdays between April 15 and June 15.
Closed in working holidays
"May of Monuments" Events
The Botanical Garden of Naples adheres to the event of "May of Monuments" being open to the public from 9.00am to 13.30pm. on every Sunday of May. Any changes to the program will be announced in this section.
Remember that in such cases it is not necessary to book and that entry is always free.
Special opening Planta VI Edizione, 4, 5 e 6 Maggio 2018
Guided Visits
The Botanical Garden also organizes guided visits from March to May and bookings can be made from January. These visits are conducted by specialized personnel and aimed at every kind of student, free of charge.
For bookings of schools and any further information please call (+39) 081- 2533937, from monday to friday 9.00 am - 11.00 am.
For visits of cultural associations contact the following numbers:
Dott.ssa Rosa Muoio: 081-2533927
Dottor Bruno Menale: 081-25333925
Dottor Giancarlo Sibilio: 081-2533934
Notice, June 2016: except as already agreed, will not be possible to organize guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays until further notice
