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The great age of plant discovery which began in the 16C with the exploration of the Americas triggered an interest in the scientific study & classification of plants. The plants & seeds which made their way to Europe from foreign ports were cultivated to determine their potential uses. At first this was chiefly to determine their potential medical applications. The great botanical gardens founded in the 16C at Padua, Leiden, & Montpellier were attached to medical schools.
16C Map of the Botanical Garden of Padua
Founded in 1545, the Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico) of Padua is the oldest University Botanical Garden (Horto Medicinale) of the world that has kept its original site, & its structure practically unaltered. It was established by the Republic of Venice upon demand of the medical school of the University of Padua, for the cultivation of medicinal plants, which at that time constituted the majority of the "simple" plants, that is, those medicines that came directly from nature. For this reason the first botanical gardens were called Gardens of Simples (Hortus Simplicium). There reigned during those times a great uncertainty about the identification of the plants used as therapy by the celebrated doctors of antiquity, & errors & frauds were frequent, causing grave damage to the public health. The creation of the botanical garden would help the students of the University of Padua to recognize the true medicinal herbs from adulterations. The fist keeper of the Botanical Garden was Luigi Squalermo, also known as Anguillara who had a great number of plants planted (nearly 1800).
Because of continuous night thefts, a circular wall was built to enclose it. The Garden was continuously enriched with plants from various parts of the world, & especially from countries where the Republic of Venice had estates on, or with which it traded. Because of this Padua has played a prominent role in the introduction & in the study of many exotic plants. The Garden has witnessed the evolution of Botany as a science applied to medicine to the various branches that make it up now.
