Ten hectares, a bicentennial history: the Botanical Garden is the oldest scientific garden in Europe, among the most prestigious international institutions. Wanted by the Bourbon kings, some nobles and scholars with the aim of contributing to the development of plant science in the interests of medicine and agriculture, it houses plants from all continents with exceptional specimens.

The complex, built in 1789 in neoclassical style (the first example in Sicily), includes the central building, the Gymnasium for the lessons in botany, an Herbarium and other two parts the Calidarium and the Tepidarium.

In more than 10 hectares of its current extension it accommodates a scientific collection of more than 12,000 different species of plants grown in the ground, all arranged according to systematic botanical criteria, where you can admire beautiful specimens of Ficus magnolioides, dragon trees, aloe plants, many collections of exotic plants and many species of palms from all continents. Moreover in this “herbarium mediterraneum” there are preserved tens of thousands of dried plants that constitute a great heritage of scientific and cultural interest.

A walk along the avenues of the gardens is a real journey in science, art and nature.