Orto botanico comunale di Lucca

About the museum

The Botanical Garden of Lucca was founded in 1820 by the Duchess Maria Luisa of Bourbon, at the request of the botany professor Paolo Volpi, for scientific teaching; an earlier project by Princess Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi of 1814 had been interrupted by the fall of the Napoleonic empire. Work began in 1821, and the garden was laid out in the area next to the Renaissance walls.

After Italian unification the garden was entrusted to Cesare Bicchi, director from 1860 to 1906, to whom much of its present appearance is due: the botanical school in the northern part, the enlargement of the arboretum and the pond, and the formation of the herbarium. From 1903 the garden has belonged to the Comune. After Bicchi's death it went through a long period of decline; the revival of the living collections dates from the 1980s, while from 1999 to 2018 management was in the hands of the Opera delle Mura, which built new greenhouses and restored the historic buildings.

Today the garden is a cultural and museum institution of the Comune, recognised in 2022 as a museum of regional importance. The southern part houses the arboretum with monumental trees, the little mound (montagnola) with native flora, the pond and the collections of camellias and rhododendrons; in the northern part are the botanical school with medicinal plants, the greenhouses, the library and the Cesare Bicchi museum, with the historic herbaria and a branch of the regional germplasm bank.

Highlights

• Arboretum with monumental trees such as sequoias and Lebanon cedars
• Camellia and rhododendron collections linked to the gardens of Lucca's villas
• Botanical school with medicinal plants beneath the ginkgo
• Historic greenhouses with tropical and subtropical plants
• Cesare Bicchi botanical museum with the Herbarium lucense
• Pond and bog for the conservation of water-loving flora

Permanent exhibition

• Orto vivo e museo botanico Cesare Bicchi – Over 2,000 living species in the various sectors of the garden, and a small museum with historic herbaria, an old library and a 19th-century xylotheque.

Founded

1820

Operated by

Comune di Lucca

Visitors per year

approx. 43,442

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for students and university students for study purposes (subject to authorisation by the Ufficio Cultura), licensed regional tourist and environmental guides, and school groups from the schools of the Comune di Lucca. Admission outside opening hours on request at €250 per hour.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The garden can be visited along gravel paths; the main avenue has a wooden footbridge to ease access. Because of the works in progress since 5 December 2025, the entrance for people with disabilities is through the small green door at Via del Giardino Botanico 14.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Visits and educational routes for nursery, primary and secondary schools, designed with A.Di.P.A.; reduced rates for families.

Getting there & parking

Because of works in progress since 5 December 2025, the public enters from the Rampa del Baluardo San Regolo, on the city walls; the entrance for people with disabilities is at Via del Giardino Botanico 14.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

Entry outside opening hours on request to the administration, at a charge (€250 per hour).

Plan your visit