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Summary
The dates of foundation of the oldest university botanical gardens.
The dates of foundation of the oldest Botanical Gardens in Italy are not well known to the greatest part of the students of Botanical History.
Also today Ms. A. Guillaumin in his « Histoire de la Botanique en France (Paris, 1954) pag. 188» writes it was « Serenissima Repubblica Veneta » who founded the first Botanical Garden in 1533, whilst in that year only the chair of Bonafede had been constituded and the foundation of the Botanical Garden in Padoa happened later in 1545.
Really the most ancient Botanical Garden in the world is not that of Padoa, but that of Pisa.
Recently in the « Archivio di Stato » of Florence has been discovered by Fedeli a letter dated July 4 th 1545 written by Luca Ghini. From it it is clear that already a month before that date Luca Ghini was collecting plants to be coultivated in the academic garden of Pisa « for utility of students ».
The critical analysis of many papers by Luigi Anguillara allowe us to establish that Luca Ghini with the same Anguillara collected plants in the surreoundings of Pisa and on the Apuane Alps, from 1543 to 1544, and planted them in the academic garden of Pisa, which therefore must be considered the first Botanical Garden in the world, founded in the Summer 1543.
The second Botanical Garden in order of time is that of Padoa having been established by the « Senato Veneto » in 1545 and actually founded on July 7 th 1545 (de Visiani). The first director of Botanical Garden of Padoa was Luigi Anguillara after having left Pisa where he cooperated with Luca Ghini to found the Botanical Garden of Pisa.
Finally the third Botanical Garden is that of Florence (« Giardino dei Semplici ») founded as a dependance of that of Pisa by Luca Ghini, for school utility during the holyday, when the Florentine students remained at home. The date of its founding is December 1st 1545, as it appears from an an attorney document dated November 16th 1545 preserved in the « Archivio di Stato » of Florence (Volpi).
In conclusion the right chronology of the oldest University Botanical Gardens in the world is as follows:
1st: Pisa, Summer 1543
2nd: Padoa, July 7th 1545
3rd: Florence, December 1st 1545.