Accessible Life - Padua Botanical Garden

[ErmesT]

Accessible Life is a project for creating a map of Accessible paths and natural places around the world, and to share it, giving in this way the opportunity to a disabled person to:

• Find natural accessible places
• Explore them before a visit

Today we will talk about a very special accessible place: Padua Botanical Garden

Padua Botanical Garden is simply the most ancient Botanical Garden of the world. The first one, built on 1545 by the Benedictine monks.

In 1997 the Botanical Garden of Padua was included as a cultural asset on the UNESCO World Heritage List

This post is focused on all the accessible aspect of the Garden, and should be considered an integration of Padua Botanical Garden - The oldest Botanical Garden of the world

The garden is Fully accessible, perfect for children from 4 to 124 years, is a refreshing experience on summertime.

People with disabilities can call the garden to ask for support for access and / or parking information

Wheelchair users can access the ticket office of the Botanical Garden via a convenient ramp

Built in 1545, the ancient garden consists of a large circle, inside which four square areas are inscribed, known as “the quarters”. All the passages are accessible with a wheelchair

A Garden for visually impaired

Inside the garden there is an educational itinerary for the blind and visually impaired. These are plants, grown in pots, which can be replaced during the year. Each plant, with particular characteristics appreciable by touch or smell, is marked by a panel indicating the name and peculiarities of the species in Braille writing.

What I have found absolutely amazing is the aquatic garden. If you like to take photos of flowers you are absolutely in the right place. I had to limit myself, as I was left behind by my wife, lost in a world of beauty and colors

The Library

Access to the library is guaranteed to everyone through a wheelchair ramp

The library is actually closed due to the Covid rules. I will have to visit the garden again when the library will open.

After a couple of hours walking and taking photos (a lot of photos) under the sun of July, we decided to take a short rest, near a fountain. The “four seasons” fountain was inserted outside the circular walls (the core of the garden) in the 18th century.

Then, relaxing walk of a few minutes through the park allows you to reach the Biodiversity Garden.

An elevator, in the middle of the Rainforest, give the access to the wheelchairs to to the higher part of the building, where you can walk watching the plants

The Panoramic terrace completes the visit to the Biodiversity Garden.

Also in there, there is an elevator, strictly reserved to disabled people.

From the terrace you can admire the entire external part of the Garden.

All this makes the Botanical Garden 100% accessible, easy to visit, and to enjoy

The tour is ended here, even if there is a lot more to say and to see.

As I know you are interested to know more, I’ve prepared:

• The tour in My Maps
• The Photo Album
• The post related to the visit of the place: Padua Botanical Garden - The oldest Botanical Garden of the world

Do you want to share with us your experience about the Accessible Gardens? Feel free to share your photos, or the link to your posts, or your reviews in Google Maps

[venkatesh322]

Hi @ErmesT

Thank you so much for your Botanical Garden photos and the way you described them

[LuigiZ]

Great post @ErmesT !

It is very nice to see how such old place it is 100% full accessible. Building new things already accessible is much easier (although not always done!), but keeping adapting and maintaining very old and historical places it is a bit more difficult, especially because regulations and needs changed across the years.

Thank you for sharing this very special and beautiful place.

[ErmesT]

@LuigiZ

The botanical garden has been built by the Benedictine monks, and has been always part of the University of Padua. It has been used to study officinalis plants, so it has been always maintained active, and always on the top of the actual scientific knowledge.

The garden of biodiversity is a garden at Zero Energy, built with the synergy between different departments of the university

[helga19]

Thank you @ErmesT for interesting post about Botanical garden.

It is really unique, it is very old and the plants are so beautiful.

It is great that the garden has round shape, it is easy to found the nessesary plants.

In Moscow we have Botanical garden with special corner for blind people, where they can smell and touch the plants.

It is useful option.

Has the Botanical garden big greenhouse?

Best regards,

Inna

[ErmesT]

Thank you @helga19

The round shape with a cross in the middle is in fact the symbol of the Benedictine order. They wanted to represent it on the shape of the garden.

Yes they have a greenhouses, and a deposit of seeds.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid emergency, the old greenhouse was not accessible.

Great that you have a corner for visually impaired, in that garden in Moscow

[ErmesT]

Thanks @venkatesh322

Do you have experience about some accessible Garden in your area?

[Kwiksatik]

@ErmesT I absolutely love this post. A garden is one of the places that seems both easier, and more challenging to have as accessible. I love how you interpreted this location through the two lenses (objectively and as accessible).

I’m curious - was there any instruction for hand sanitization on the braille surfaces? I’ve been wondering a lot about whether or not the blind population is being disproportionately put at risk from COVID, if there are separate sanitization concerns for public braille signs, or even if they are more aware of the cleanliness of surfaces their hands touch (than others who might interpret the same information visually).

[ErmesT]

Great point, @Kwiksatik . OMG, I missed that part, because definitely no, I haven’t find any indication about that nor any sanitizer near the plates. You are absolutely right. Tomorrow I will try to find an email to contact them.

Maybe they have a guide (a person) with the sanitizer, I will definitely let you know.

Thanks for the heads up

[TusharSuradkar]

Thanks for taking us on a virtual tour of the most ancient garden.

The views are mesmerizingly beautiful.

I especially noted that the layout appears modern even when the garden is several centuries old @ErmesT

The garden looks well-maintained and the accessibility features are icing on the cake.

[DeniGu]

What a great tour of the garden you gave us, @ErmesT !

It’s so fascinating to see a place that has been around for almost five decades, and a place with living things at that. Do you know if any of the plants are still the same as the ones the monks used to study back in the 16th century? Or maybe many are new to the area?

Another thing that I find really impressive is the garden for people with visual impairment. The Braille signs and the ability to actually touch the plants must provide a truly memorable experience.

Thank you so much for sharing!

[ErmesT]

You are welcome @DeniGu

I suppose you wanted to say “centuries”. Yes, many of the plants on the original “Horto Simplicium” are the same kind plants that were studied by the Benedictine on the 15th Century in Padua. From 1492, with the discovery of America, many plants started to arrive in Europe, while the commerce with Asia in Italy (Venice) is officially dated back to the 13th Century, with the trips of Marco Polo

For more details about the garden, I wrote Padua Botanical Garden - The oldest Botanical Garden of the world

[DeniGu]

Whoops! I was so excited to join the conversations that I wrote “decades” instead of “centuries.” Good catch, @ErmesT !

It’s not like I needed any more convincing to add this botanical garden to my bucket list, but the fact that most of the plants are still the same was the best selling point for me. Thank you!

[ErmesT]

Ready to Guide you to discover the Veneto region @DeniGu

I am sure many other friends will be ready to be “your guide for a day”, so make sure to stay at least a week, and we will promise you to avoid the classic tour of Venice, for showing you the “real” region, from the Alps to the sea, on a visual and tasting experience that you will never forget.

Are you with us, @davidhyno ?

Oops, Deni, I am mixing up some info between the two post, following the flow of the answers. You should read this conversation with @Kwiksatik about the history of the Garden, and why it is designed on that shape

[Kwiksatik]

@DeniGu is this “bucketlist” a shared list by any chance?

[ErmesT]

Thank you for your words, @TusharSuradkar

Yes, the Botanic Garden is part of the University. They do as much as they can to keep it absolutely well maintained and accessible

[Emmik20]

Hi @ErmesT This too beautiful . I for someone who like to garden and love be around nature , Your post about flowers and gardens are what I look forward to read. You been inspirational to many and I took your initiatives to write my first post about flowers.

[ErmesT]

Now you makes me blushing @Emmik20 , thank you so much.

The possibility to makes the nature accessible to everyone is a great goal that we want to achieve

I promised on Instagram a tag to @Globe_trotter_Isha and to @EugeniaGallardo

[Globe_trotter_Ish]

Thanks a lot for tagging me @ErmesT ! I was waiting for this post! This is amazing information! Its interesting to know about the garden with facilities for the visually impaired. Happy to know the accessible features! Thanks for sharing!

[DeniGu]

That kind of conversation is one of the reasons why I love Connect and the whole Local Guides community so much, @ErmesT . Sure, I could read this and that about the Benedictine Monks in different websites, but I would never have got that thrill I felt while reading your emotion-filled answer to @Kwiksatik 's fantastic observation. Thanks for pointing me to your discussion!

As for that eventful and delicious tour of the Veneto region you mentioned, sign me up! Well, maybe not right now because of the current global situation, but you definitely intrigued me! Until then, I’ll collect ideas and want-to-go places from your posts and those of other Local Guides from Italy.