Orto Botanico - Università degli Studi di Catania

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Italy - Sicilia - Catania

Institution Code: CAT

BGCI Member: No

About the Orto Botanico - Università degli Studi di Catania

The University of Catania, the earliest one in Sicily, was founded by Alphonsus of Arragon in 1434. However, the first chair of Botany was only established in 1788. In 1858 Francesco Tornabene Roccaforte, a benedectine and holder of the chair of Botany, eagerly laid the foundation of the Botanical Garden. The building was originally designed by the architect Mario Distefano, while Tornabene busied himself with the task of arranging the plants. In 1860 the Garden was extended thanks to a donation by Mario Coltraro; the new area was especially destined for the cultivation of wild sicilian species. ‘Cause a rapid growth of city no further expansion has been possible. From such a restriction an advantage has arisen, in that the original nineteenth-century plan could be maintained.

Main Address:
Orto Botanico - Università degli Studi di Catania
Via Antonino Longo 19
Catania
Sicilia 95125 Italy

Telephone: 39 (0)95 430901
Fax: 39 (0)95 441209
URL: www.dipbot.unict.it
Primary Email: orto.scuola@yahoo.it

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Pietro Pavone
    Curator's Name:
    Plant Records Officer's Name:

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: No
    Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
  • Date founded: 1858
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
  • Total Area: 2 Hectares
    Latitude: 37.5279
    Longitude: 15.0798
    Annual Rainfall: 731 mm
    Altitude: 75.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 300000
    Arboretum: No
  • Seed Bank: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes

Plant Collections

  • Special Collections:Succulents, palms and wild plants of Sicily.

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Ecosystem Conservation: Yes
    Education: Yes
    Floristics: Yes
    Horticulture: Yes
    Molecular Genetics: Yes
    Restoration Ecology: Yes
    Systematics and Taxonomy: Yes
    Urban Environments: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: No
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for University/College Students: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes