Orto Botanico di Palermo, Palermo

The Orto Botanico di Palermo, or Palermo Botanical Garden, is both a botanical garden and a research and educational institution forming part of, and managed by the Department of Botany of the University of Palermo. It covers about 30 acres on top of red soil that has evolved on a calcareous tufaceous substratum. The gardens are currently home to at least 12,000 different species.

The earliest beginnings of the gardens go back to 1779, when the Accademia dei Regi Studi created the chair of "Botany and medicinal properties". They were allocated a modest plot of land to develop a small botancial garden dedicated to the cultivation of plants with medicinal benefits for the twin objectives of general learning and improving public health. The central neo-classical building, known as the Gymnasium, is located near the main entrance gate. Originally it was the main office of the Schola Regia Botanice (school of botany), the Herbarium, the library and the director's office. The Linneian section is the oldest section of the gardens, laid out in a rectangular shape and divided into four quadrangles, the "quatrains" (or quartini). Each quatrain is further divided into flowerbeds, within which the plants were originally organised along the lines of the Linneian system of classification.