Home -> What to do -> Cansiglio Plateau -> Botanical Garden

Opening hours Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 13.00 to 17.00
Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 18.00
Contacts Veneto Agricoltura - headquarters of Pian Cansiglio tel. +39 0438 581757
Associazione Naturalistica G. Lorenzoni associazionelorenzoni@gmail.com also on Facebook and YouTube

From the last Sunday of May to the last of September, but for schools and groups openings hours can be adjusted on request.
In case of large groups, it is however appropriate to advice in advance even during the normal opening period.

The Garden was established in 1972 thanks to the idea of Prof. Giovanni Giorgio Lorenzoni, professor at the University of Padua and of Dr. Giovanni Zanardo, inspector of the State Company for State Forests, who started the construction of the Garden. The Garden was dedicated in memory of prof. Lorenzoni in 1994 and officially inaugurated in 1995 by Veneto Agriculture, the current managing body.

The property represents a very important reality, not only for its beauty and functionality but because it permits you to observe and learn about a large number of plant species and different habitats in a confined space.

In the Garden there was the desire to welcome the flora and vegetation of the “Col Nudo-Cavallo” mountain range, which includes the Cansiglio area, articulated and organized in a complex of different environments, from lawns and humid places to rocks and woods.

The Garden is located in a central position of the Cansiglio Plateau and covers a karst area of about 3 hectares at 1000 m of altitude. Here the flowerbeds are disseminated over different levels, separated by meadows and trees.

Compared to the starting situation, the garden has been progressively expanded for the annexation of neighbouring areas representative of the plateau for naturalistic and geomorphological aspects. Then it was completed with an efficient network of trails.

Over the years the presence of about 70 plants in 1978 has gone from the present to almost 1000 and the prospect is to get as close as possible to the approximately 1500 species existing in the massif.
This has been possible by making the “traditional” flowerbeds evolve into real habitats. They are all presented as natural ensembles: peatland, “lame”, banks of the streams, rocky walls, and sinkholes.
This has created a delightful overview and, most of all, allows visitors to get to know and appreciate environments that are now becoming rare in the Alps and in some areas have completely disappeared.

Alpine botanical gardens can be considered a great place for naturalistic education, environmental education and the biodiversity conservation, which is increasingly important to sensitize new generations (but also future ones) to this crucial issue.
To perform this role, it is necessary to involve a wider public, from school groups to tourist groups, to individual visitors, providing information and knowledge. The large-scale disclosure of issues related to the protection of threatened species and environments is important in the context of the global strategy for the protection of plant biodiversity; this depends mainly on the respectful behaviour of citizens towards susceptible species and the environments that host them.

The Cansiglio Alpine Botanical Garden has important didactic and educational functions and requires continuous maintenance and improvements, useful to increase the knowledge of visitors and to enhance the territory itself, also being an important support for local tourism.
This is the reason why the Garden is home to various cultural events, photographic exhibitions concerning woods and animals, outdoor concerts, historical and naturalistic projections as well as guided nature tours.

The garden also contains a Venetian term from the 1600s and another one is just outside the fence and visible from inside.
Currently the garden openings and the entertainment activities are managed in collaboration with the Lorenzoni Naturalistic Association.

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