Pages

Friday, March 22, 2013

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda 2012 março

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda 2012 março

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda 2012 março

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda 2012 março

Jardim Botânico da Ajuda 2012 março

Click here for more photos fo the Jardim Botânico da Ajuda.

The Jardim Botânico da Ajuda is a beautiful garden in the Lisbon suburb of Belém.  There are lovely views from this hillside garden of Belém, the Tagus estuary & the 25 de Abril Bridge, which resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco & was built by the same company.  It is quite easy & quick to get here on the train from central Lisbon. The Jardim Botânico da Ajuda has been run by the Instituto Superior de Agronomia of the Universidade de Lisboa since 1910 as part of their teaching & research infrastructure. It covers ​​almost 10 acres on 2 levels. The architecture of the garden follows the Italian Renaissance model of a terrace garden. The upper level contains the botanical collection & the lower level is an ornamental stroll garden with a garden of aromatic and medicinal plants, a garden of plants native to the region of Lisbon, and a forest.

The garden was founded in 1768 & designed by the Italian botanist, Domingos Vandelli of Padua.  Vandelli was hired by Dom José I to teach his sons, the princes of Portugal. Vandelli was appointed director of the Royal Botanical Garden of Ajuda in 1791.  The royal family had moved to the Palace of Belém from Lisbon after the catastrophic earthquare & tsunami of 1755. This garden was constructed near the palace.  It was the first Portuguese botanical garden designed to maintain, study & collect as many species of the plant world as possible. It had 5000 species arranged according to the Linnaean system. (Vandelli had studied with Linnaeus)  Before long, greenhouses were added to house plants from the Portuguese colonies of Brazil, Angola & Cape Verde.  And the garden was opened to the public.   After the death of the second director Felix de Avellar Brotero, the garden went into decline. The lower level was reconstructed in 1869, then the upper level in 1934. The entire garden was restored once again between 1993 & 1997.

No comments:

Post a Comment