Management Plan 2025-2031

World Heritage Site – Botanical Garden of the University of Padua

The declaration as a World Heritage Site, a fundamental milestone in the history of the site, captures the essence of the uniqueness of the Botanical Garden: that of a living monument which, on the one hand, preserves extraordinary plant specimens and an exceptional historical, architectural, and documentary heritage, and on the other, looks to the younger generations, strengthening its mission in the field of education and research, key tools for the dissemination of knowledge.

The World Heritage Site Management Plan provides a snapshot, in a single document, of the interventions and transformations that have affected the Botanical Garden since the year it was inscribed on the World Heritage List, focusing on developments in the period 2012-2024 and, looking ahead, on development actions in the period 2025-2031.

A visible before and after in some ‘symbolic’ interventions: the construction of the greenhouses in the Biodiversity Garden, in the Satellite Garden area (2014); the restoration of Goethe's Palm greenhouse (2015); the restoration of the 19th-century greenhouses (2018); the new layout of the botanical museum and the unification of the historical medical-botanical library (2023); the implementation of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) projects, such as the reclamation of the historic Alicorno canal (2024).

The Plan outlines a comprehensive overview of the heritage and collections preserved, including risks and vulnerabilities; risk mitigation measures for the conservation of the Site and coordination measures (internal and external) and governance tools for the cultural site; and the results of conservation, research, management, and enhancement activities.

Strategic objectives and action plan

The document reports on the actions taken in response to the recommendations made by ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), outlining methods, tools, strategies, and initiatives to be implemented over the next six years in pursuit of key strategic objectives and the implementation of the World Heritage Convention: Conservation, Community, Capacity building, Communication, Credibility. Among the most significant interventions for each of these objectives are:

• Renovation and expansion of propagation, storage, and quarantine greenhouses; renovation and redesign of the Biodiversity Garden greenhouses (Conservation);
• participatory content design (PR-FESR project); annual call for collaborations and cultural activities with local entities (Community);
• Implementation of a plan to eliminate architectural barriers; accessibility of the Botanical Garden collections: towards a Garden for all (draft law 77/2006) (Capacity building);
• Development of tools for promoting the territory (Communication);
• Launch of local consultation tables; definition of the visitor management plan (Credibility).

The route

The drafting of the plan concludes a process—funded by the Ministry of Culture—that involved institutional representatives, organizations, and cultural and social entities in the area (through interviews, consultations, thematic focus groups, questionnaires, and benchmarking activities) and was carried out thanks to the technical working group coordinated synergistically by the University Botanical Garden Center and the Permanent Events Office of the University's Communication and Marketing Department, in collaboration with a team of external experts from the Links Foundation (Turin) and Studio Marinuzzi (Trieste) and with the technical support of the UNESCO Office of the Ministry of Culture.

Funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture (Italian law Legge n. 77 20 February 2006 - Special measures for the protection and use of Italian sites and elements of cultural, landscape and environmental interest, inscribed on the "World Heritage List", placed under the protection of UNESCO).