Jardim Botânico d'Ajuda

In Portugal, the oldest botanical garden is that of Ajuda. Its history goes back to 1755, after the Lisbon earthquake , when King D. José I transferred his court from the outskirts of the capital to Ajuda. This site was chosen because this zone was not affected during the earthquake. In 1768, the Royal Botanical Garden was born. Domingos Vandelli was the creator of this garden, which transposed to the Portuguese capital the botanical garden of his hometown, Padua . However, Vandelli did not start building the garden on his own, but he had the precious help of Julius Mattiazi, the first gardener of Padua Botanical Garden.