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Botanic Garden

Founded in 1543 by naturalist, doctor and botanist Luca Ghini (1490-1556), the Botanic Garden is the first university botanic garden in the world.

Originally built on the banks of the river Arno, it was moved to the current site in 1591 and then gradually expanded up to about two hectares. It houses plants from several continents: the succulents of the African and American deserts, the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean maquis, the species of the Tuscan wetlands, and numerous centuries-old trees. In the Botanic Garden are also cultivated several endangered plants of conservation interests.

Botanic Museum

Descendant of the ancient Gallery established in 1591 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinando I de’ Medici, it still preserves the Quadreria, composed of seventeeth-century portraits of illustrious botanists, the monumental entrance door to the Gallery, and the “Studiolo” used to study and preserve the seeds of the Botanic Garden. It also houses objects related to the teaching of botany since the end of the eighteenth century.
Some are true works of art, such as the botanical models in wax and plaster and the water-coloured teaching tables (19th century).
Other collections hosted are: the in vitro samples of plants, the xylotheque, the teaching models, the botanical instruments and the paleobotany collection.
Finally, at the Botanical Museum, thanks to a multimedia station, it is possible to make a virtual visit among the dried plants (exsiccata) of the herbarium (Herbarium Horti Botanici Pisani), otherwise accessible only to scholars upon reservation.