View of the monumental greenhouse, now Merola greenhouse, of the Botanical Garden of Naples. Copperplate engraving, attributed to Giacinto Gigante, taken from the "Corografia Fisica, Storica, Statistica dell'Italia (1835-45)" by Attilio Zuccagni Orlandini.
View of the monumental greenhouse, now Merola greenhouse, of the Botanical Garden of Naples. Copperplate engraving, attributed to Giacinto Gigante, taken from the "Corografia Fisica, Storica, Statistica dell'Italia (1835-45)" by Attilio Zuccagni Orlandini.

History

On December 28th, 1807, the King of Naples, Giuseppe Bonaparte, signed the decree for the establishment of the Royal Botanical Garden, so fulfilling a wish of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, which had been prevented by the Neapolitan Revolutionof 1799. The lands adjacent to the Albergo dei Poveri, then owned by the clergy of Santa Maria della Pace and by the Hospital of La Cava, were expropriated for the project.

"The instruction of the public" and the multiplication "of the spices useful for health, agriculture, and industry" are expressions that can be found in the official documents of the time to describe the purpose of the royal institution. The Neapolitan Garden was therefore born under the sign of modernity and from the very beginning stood out for the multiplicity of functions it performed and for its vast plant heritage.

Giuliano de Fazio and Gaspare Maria Paoletti are the architects who signed the project. De Fazio designed the imposing facade, the main avenue perpendicular to the facade, and the one that leads to the Castle. The Temperate House (“Stufa Temperata”), in neoclassical style, whose appearance recalls the orangeries of the eighteenth century, is also De Fazio's work. The “Stufa Temperata” originally housed citrus plants during the unfavorable season. Paoletti, on the other hand, designed the lower part of the Royal Botanical Garden.

The first director, Michele Tenore, led the Garden for 50 years, from its opening in 1810 until the fall of the Bourbon regime and the Unification of Italy. He was succeeded by 12 appointed directors who have contributed in various ways to the establishment of new areas and the enrichment of the collections.

Currently, the total area of the Botanical Garden of Naples is almost 12 hectares, on which about 9,000 plant species are on display for a total of about 25,000 specimens.