Description of the attraction
The Botanical Garden of Lucca is located on Via Giardino Botanico. It was founded in 1820 on the initiative of the Duchess Marie-Louise of Spain, and was originally run by the Royal University of Lucca along with the Physics Laboratory and the Astronomical Observatory. And the first image of the garden dates back to 1843 - the card shows the current zones of La Arborteo (Tree), La Montagnola (Mountain) and Il Laghetto (Lake). La Montagnola, where today you can see the many plant species of the Luchese mountains, has retained its original spiral layout, while La Arboreto, on the contrary, has lost its geometric shape. In 1920, the botanical garden was transferred to the municipality of Lucca and became a public park.
Today, the botanical garden's collection includes about 200 plant species, including early flowering camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. The territory of the garden is decorated with huge ceramic "medallions", which depict important events in the history of the garden, for example, the planting of the Lebanese cedar in 1822 - today this wonderful tree is considered one of the oldest in La Arboreto. You can also see a lattice with pilasters decorated with bay leaves and crowned with lions (by Lorenzo Nottolini). And the octagonal vase, used for breeding aquatic plant species, is decorated with a sphinx and an impressive terracotta pumpkin. At the bottom of the central alley, next to the lake, is a beautiful group of cypresses from Virginia.
There is a mysterious legend in the history of the botanical garden of Lucca: it is said that a certain noble lady Lucida Muncie sold her soul to the devil in exchange for a long youth. At the end of the agreement, the devil put Lucida in a red-hot carriage and carried her through the city walls of Lucca, and then threw it into the water of the same lake, which is located in the botanical garden. They say that even today, if you put your head in the water, you can see the face of Lucida Muncie.
