Giardini Botanici Hanbury
The Giardini Botanici Hanbury (18 hectares), also known as Villa Hanbury, are major botanical gardens operated by the University of Genoa. They are located at Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore, several km west of Ventimiglia, Italy.
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[edit] History
The gardens were established by Sir Thomas Hanbury on a small, steep peninsula jutting southwards from an altitude of 103 meters down into the Mediterranean Sea. He purchased the extant Palazzo Orengo property in 1867, and over decades created the garden with the aid of pharmacologist Daniel Hanbury (his brother), the botanist and landscape designer Ludwig Winter and scientists including Gustav Cronemayer, Kurt Dinter, and Alwin Berger. By 1883 the garden's Index seminum contained about 600 species, which had grown to 3,500 species in the 1889 catalog, and 5,800 species by the 1912 version. Hanbury died in 1907, but energetic plantings and improvements resumed after World War I under the direction of his daughter-in-law Lady Dorothy Hanbury.
- Restoration
Unfortunately, the gardens were severely damaged in World War II, when they became a no-man's land, and in 1960 Lady Hanbury sold them to the State of Italy. Initially its care was entrusted to the International Institute of Ligurian Studies, but when they withdraw for lack of adequate funds in 1983, responsibility was passed to the University of Genoa. Restoration has been gradually proceeding since 1987, and it was declared a nature preserve in 2000.
[edit] Plant collections
Today 9 of the gardens' 18 hectares are under cultivation, and contain about 2500 taxa. Many of the species are plants of Mediterranean climates from the six Mediterranean climate zones of the world.
Major collections include agaves, aloes, and salvia, as well as fine old specimens of Araucaria cunninghamii (planted 1832), Casimiroa edulis (1867), olive trees, Olmediella betschleriana, and Pinus canariensis (1870). An orchard of rare fruits includes Actinidia, Carica, Diospyros, Eugenia, Feijoa, Fortunella, Macadamia, Mespilus, and Persea.
Additional collections feature palms, succulents, Australian trees, citrus, and cultivated flowers. Of particular interest are the Aphyllantes monspeliensis, Beaucarnea recurvata, Beaucarnea stricta, Caesalpinia sepiaria, Chiranthodendron pentadactylon, Chrysanthemum discoideum, Coronilla juncea, Cupressus guadalupensis, Cupressus lusitanica, Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus sideroxylon, Eucalyptus microcorys, Mandevilla laxa, Passiflora bryonioides, Passiflora amethistina, Passiflora edulis, Senecio deltoideus, Sollya heterophylla, Thunbergia grandiflora, Thunbergia coccinea, Thunbergia mysorensis, Wigandia urens, and Yucca australis.
[edit] Access
The gardens are open daily. An admission fee is charged. The Villa loggia terrace and the landscaped gardens may be visited by the public. The gardens contain a number of interesting features: including a stretch of Roman road; grottos; garden statuary; fountains; a bronze dragon from Kyoto and a Japanese bell dated 1764; and the fanciful Moroccan pavilion at the tomb of Hanbury and his wife and Museo Moresco.
Under the porch, at the entrance,there is a mosaic representing Marco Polo
The Villa itself is not open to the public. A small snack bar beside the sea provides refreshment.
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Cacti -
Pavilion -
Tomb of the Hanburys -
Mosaic of Marco Polo
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- Hanbury Botanical Gardens, undated brochure from the gardens
- Giardini Botanici Hanbury, undated tourist brochure
[edit] External links
- Area protetta regionale Giardini Botanici Hanbury
- Amici Hanbury
- Orti Botanici e Giardini Storici Italiani
- Convention on Biological Diversity - Botanic Gardens of Italy
Coordinates: 43°46′57.71″N 7°33′20.12″E / 43.7826972°N 7.5555889°E
