Botanical garden · Founded 1867 · Ventimiglia, Liguria, Italy

Hanbury Botanical Gardens

The Hanbury Botanical Gardens (Giardini Botanici Hanbury) are a celebrated 18-hectare botanical garden at Mortola Inferiore, near Ventimiglia in Liguria, established in 1867 by the English merchant and philanthropist Sir Thomas Hanbury on a clifftop estate overlooking the Ligurian Sea. Containing approximately 2,500 plant taxa from Mediterranean climates worldwide, the gardens are managed by the University of Genoa and rank among the most beautiful in Italy.

At a glance

Type: Botanical garden and historic park
Period: Founded 1867; severely damaged in World War II; acquired by Italian State 1960; managed by University of Genoa since 1983
Style: Victorian-era landscape garden with naturalistic Mediterranean planting
Location: Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore, 18039 Ventimiglia (IM), Liguria, Italy
Coordinates: 43.7827 N, 7.5556 E
Contact: Tel: +39 0184 229507 – info@cooperativa-omnia.com – giardinihanbury.com

Overview

The Hanbury Gardens occupy a spectacular clifftop site above the Ligurian Sea on the road from Ventimiglia towards the French border at Menton. Sir Thomas Hanbury purchased the Palazzo Orengo estate in 1867 and transformed it over decades into one of the world’s outstanding botanical collections, working with his botanist brother Daniel Hanbury and landscape designer Ludwig Winter. The gardens span 18 hectares, of which 9 are actively cultivated, and were declared a nature preserve in 2000. A UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination was submitted in 2006.

History

Thomas Hanbury made his fortune as a merchant in Shanghai and returned to Europe in 1867 with both the means and the ambition to create a botanical garden that could test the growing range of Mediterranean and subtropical plants in the mild Ligurian microclimate. His brother Daniel, a Fellow of the Royal Society and pharmacognosist, contributed botanical expertise. The first seed catalogue was issued in 1883, listing 557 species; the landmark 1912 Hortus Mortolensis documented nearly 6,000 species. The gardens suffered severe damage during World War II and were subsequently acquired by the Italian State in 1960; restoration began in earnest after the University of Genoa assumed management in 1983.

What you see

Visitors walk through terraced paths descending towards the sea, discovering major collections of agaves, aloes, and salvias alongside rare fruit trees, palms, succulents, citrus varieties, and Australian species. Mediterranean plants from six climate zones worldwide are represented, making the gardens a living library of botanical diversity. Nineteenth-century stone structures, pergolas, and irrigation channels from the Hanbury era survive among the planting, and the view over the Ligurian Sea from the upper terraces is exceptional.

Cultural significance

The Hanbury Gardens represent a defining expression of Victorian-era botanical philanthropy in the Mediterranean, comparable in ambition to Kew Gardens in Britain. They stand as evidence of the Riviera’s unique microclimate, which has made the western Ligurian coast a laboratory for plant acclimatisation for over 150 years. Their nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status underlines international recognition of their outstanding universal value.

Practical information

Address: Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore, 18039 Ventimiglia (IM), Italy.
Phone: +39 0184 229507.
Email: info@cooperativa-omnia.com.
Website: giardinihanbury.com.
Opening hours: Check the official website, as hours vary by season.

Getting there

The gardens are located on the Corso Montecarlo, the coastal road linking Ventimiglia with Menton (France), approximately 5 km west of Ventimiglia. By car, take the A10 motorway to Ventimiglia and follow signs towards the French border. By rail, Ventimiglia station is served by trains from Genoa and Nice; from the station, taxis or local buses reach the gardens. A shuttle service may operate in peak season – check the official website.

Sources & resources

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Thomas Hanbury, after having bought the Orengo family&#39;s enchanting farm located in Mortola, began in 1867 the extraordinary work that would have made his property one of the most famous gardens in the world.



The property had an enormous wealth of microclimates derived from the diversity of exposure to light and winds, from the different steepness and humidity conditions.



The two brothers and their precious collaborator knew how to make the most of them, recognizing the most favorable conditions for the growth of the plants they wanted to cultivate.



The plans also involved the reworking of the paths, the renovation of Palazzo Orengo and the other buildings on the property, the architectural ornamentation of the gardens.



After Thomas&#39;s death, his wife never returned to La Mortola and the period of the First World War, with the return of the last curator Alwin Berger in Germany, marked a time of serious degradation. At the end of the conflict it was Thomas&#39;s eldest son, Cecil, who decided to put his hand back on the property.



This is the period in which we begin to identify the parts of the gardens with numbers, a method that makes the identification of the botanical specimens more immediate, to modify the central part of the gardens and to give more space to the landscape, creating panoramic views, others avenues, paths, fountains, as the new taste that was establishing itself on the French Riviera wanted, as described in the Hortus Mortolensis in 1938.



The scientific aspect continued to be cultivated thanks to relationships with numerous gardens and botanical gardens all over the world, the hospitality of students of the School of Horticulture promoted by Kew Gardens, the exchange of specimens and seeds, the enrichment with new species from from Mexico, Chile, South Africa, India, places where Cecil financed botanical expeditions. The curators in this period were the English Joseph Benbow and McLeod Braggins and were followed by Italian directors trained in Great Britain.



The Gardens maintained their character as a political and cultural center and continued to be open to the public.



The Superintendency bound the property by recognizing its architectural, landscape and cultural value, a bond ratified by Law 1089 of 1939.



Dorothy resided in Mortola even after Cecil&#39;s death in 1937, but in 1940 the Gardens, belonging to foreigners, were confiscated and entrusted to the Banco di San Paolo.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/hanbury-botanical-gardens-l2900/

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