Orto Botanico
via Lincoln, 2
The Botanical Garden of Palermo, a key inspiration for the curatorial project of Manifesta 12, was planted in 1789 and inaugurated in December 1795. It was officially incorporated into the Accademia dei Regi Studi of Palermo when the school was founded in 1806, at which time the first Chair of Botany was instituted. The garden has grown since then, thanks to Palermo’s Botanical School, which helped it to gain recognition, expand, and enrich its collections. Organised into well-ordered and scientifically identified Collections, arranged according to aesthetic and landscape criteria, the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo is broadly divided into various sections: Linnaeus’ Zone, Engler’s Zone, the Succulent Garden, the Mediterranean hillside, the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Section, the Cycadetum, the Palmetum, and the Experimental, Biogeographical and Useful Plants Sections. The large circular pool (Aquarium) is of particular interest, with its twenty-four sections of varying depths and a surface area of approximately 500 square meters.
Palermo’s Orto Botanico is part of the section Garden of Flows of The Planetary Garden. Cultivating Coexistence, and hosts works by Alberto Baraya, Zheng Bo, Leone Contini, Malin Franzén, Lungiswa Gqunta, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Khalil Rabah, and Michael Wang.
