Hortus Mirabilis ─ Discovering the World's Oldest Botanical Garden

Combining historical appeal and the magic of nature, this book offers a fascinating look at one of the oldest and most important gardens, its existence having made a profound contribution to modern science. This beautifully illustrated book captures the wonders of Padua’s centuries-old botanical garden, revealing the artistic and architectural features of the complex along with its fabulous collection of plants, some medicinal, some spectacular, and others exceedingly rare.
Featuring all-new photography, this book follows the flowering season of the species under study and is accompanied by instructive texts along with anecdotes of scientific and popular interest and incursions into the history of the Italian Renaissance and the civilization of the Republic of Venice. This book makes a wonderful gift for plant lovers and also includes a coloring book of illustrations taken from the photographs.

The Botanical Garden of Padua was established when, in?1545,?the?University of Padua?was charged with setting up a botanical garden for the study of medicinal herbs used by pharmacists for their active ingredients, and it was here that the world’s first botanical garden came into being. Over the centuries the garden’s collections grew, as did its role as a hub for new imported plants, thanks to explorers and the trade activities of the Republic of Venice; here the plants were studied and then spread throughout Europe (not least the coffee plant)