From the Pisa Botanic Garden and Museum to the Parlascio – The exhibition “Casabona, Dyckman and the Flora of Crete”

The exhibition “Casabona, Dyckman and the Flora of Crete” is on view in the spaces of the Bastione del Parlascio, thanks to a collaboration with the Pisa Botanic Garden and Museum. The exhibition tells the story of the Flemish Giuseppe Casabona (Joseph Goedenhuyze), prefect of the Botanic Garden in the late 16th century, who between 1590 and 1591 explored the island of Crete on the orders of Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany. During his stay he met a German soldier with artistic skills, Georg Dyckman, hiring him to paint live portraits of the most significant plants collected during his excursions.

These were years of strong changes for the city of Pisa, including urban planning, linked to the political power of the Medici family and the desire to culturally incorporate Pisa into the Grand Duchy. While on the one hand the Botanic Garden was being relocated and relaunched in its current location, a few decades earlier the Bastione del Parlascio was taking shape, designed by architect Nanni Unghero.

The exhibition is on view until March 21st during the opening hours of the Walls of Pisa and included in the ticket for access to the elevated walkway. On display are reproductions of all 36 plates (34 in tempera and 2 in pencil and pen) that have come down to the present day, taken from manuscript number 462 “Icones variarum plantarum,” now preserved in the Hortus Pisanus collection of the Pisan University Library. The portrayed plants, a perfect synthesis of art and science, have all been re-identified and grouped by growing environments and peculiar adaptations.

On Friday, January 24th at 11:00 a.m., the inauguration will be held in the presence of Lorenzo Peruzzi, director of the Pisa Botanic Garden and Museum and president of the Pisa University Museum System, and Pisa City Councilor for Tourism Paolo Pesciatini.

Thanks to the agreement between the Walls of Pisa and the Botanic Garden and Museum, it is always possible to visit the two monuments with cross-discounts. Those who show up at the Walls ticket office presenting the Botanic Garden entrance ticket are entitled to reduced admission, and vice versa.