We are in summer, the sun is beating down, so let's take a walk in a small jewel in the center of Naples, the Botanical Garden, which will offer us beautiful natural views and even a little coolness. For all useful information for the visit, please contact the Orto website: www.ortobotanico.unina.it We draw a few brief historical notes from the site: The Botanical Garden of Naples was founded in the early nineteenth century, in the period in which the Neapolitan city was dominated by the French; the latter realized an idea previously conceived by Ferdinand IV of Bourbon and whose implementation had been prevented by the revolutionary uprisings of 1799. The decree of foundation of this structure bears the date of 28 December 1807 and the signature of King Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon. With article 1 of this decree those lands were expropriated, owned partly by the Religious of S. Maria della Pace and partly by the Ospedale della Cava, adjacent to the Albergo dei Poveri and already identified in the Bourbon period for the construction of the Royal Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden has gone through many vicissitudes, in the two centuries of history since its foundation: today it is a structure managed by the University of Naples and its mission, as can be seen from the website, is as follows: The activities currently carried out by the Garden concern, in addition to the cultivation and presentation of the collections for museological purposes and the carrying out of artistic and cultural events, mainly the research, teaching and conservation of rare or endangered species. But luckily for us mere mortals, the garden is also open to the public, and so let's see how people in wheelchairs can access this structure. First of all, it must be said that for the physically disabled it is possible to arrive both by car and by public transport, bearing in mind that the closest Metro Line 1 stop is MUSEO, which is about 800 meters from the Garden. The main entrance is this on Via Foria, but it is not suitable for us:
Looking from the front at the main entrance, on the left there is Via Michele Tenore (the first director of the Garden) on which opens the entrance for the disabled who can enter by car and park it there:
Once inside we can walk inside along the wide avenues, which have slopes that are acceptable even for manual chairs; the visit is facilitated by the numerous ceramic tables like this one located at the beginning of the main avenue:
Of course we do not dream of giving botany lessons to our faithful patrons of COMMA 2: we will limit ourselves to giving you an idea of the Botanical Garden through some images of the most beautiful and eye-catching plants:
This is the Monumental Greenhouse:
and this is the Castle, a construction probably dating back to the 17th century and subsequently incorporated into the Botanical Garden; today it houses the Museum of Paleobotany and Ethnobotany, unfortunately inaccessible for the motor disabled, as well as inaccessible are the toilets:
If someone accompanies you on your visit, you can ask them to go and take some photos in the museum, among particular seeds and plant fossils:
We are at the end of this visit: at the exit from the Botanical Garden you can turn right and go up Via Michele Tenore for a hundred meters; at the end of the street you can take a quick look at the statue of San Francesco exposed on the facade of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli alle Croci, which is not accessible. We therefore close the visit with the image of the saint who most identifies with nature:
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