Even since the 16th century, the University of Bologna was one of the most important centers of Italian botanical culture. Luca Ghini (1490-1556), well-known scholar of this University, held the chair of Botany, at that time known as Chair of Herbs. In medieval terminology “herbs” or rather “herbal principles” were the drugs directly extracted from the plant. The Chair of Herbs was, in fact, intended to educate medical students & for a long time these two disciplines - medicine & botany - remained united.
After the departure of Luca Ghini, one of his pupils, Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605), succeeded him. He was an excellent naturalist & one of the most eminent scientists of the late 16th century. At his demand and under his direction, a public botanic garden was created in Bologna in 1568, now the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna.
Aldrovandi obtained from the Senate the permission to establish the Botanic Garden, which he himself directed for 38 years, until his death. The original site of the Botanic Garden was located in the city centre, in the courtyard of the Public Palace (Palazzo Pubblico) near the hall where Aldrovandi gave his lectures. This first “botanic courtyard” has been rebuilt as a “Garden of Simples”, where plants are associated in sectors according to their main use.
Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605)
Due to a dispute on the composition of a popular medicine with the pharmacists and doctors of Bologna in 1575, he was suspended from all public positions for 5 years. In 1577, he sought the aid of pope Gregory XIII (a cousin of his mother), who wrote to the authorities of Bologna to reinstate Aldrovandi in his public offices and request financial aid to help him publish his books.
He willed his vast collections in botany and zoology to the Senate of Bologna; until 1742 the collections were conserved in the Palazzo Pubblico, then in the Palazzo Poggi, but were distributed among various libraries and institutions in the course of the 19C. In 1907 a representative part of his collection were reunited at Palazzo Poggi, Bologna.
He willed his vast collections in botany and zoology to the Senate of Bologna; until 1742 the collections were conserved in the Palazzo Pubblico, then in the Palazzo Poggi, but were distributed among various libraries and institutions in the course of the 19C. In 1907 a representative part of his collection were reunited at Palazzo Poggi, Bologna.
