XIX Century - A Garden for Study and Leisure

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Botanical Garden was a largely unrealised project. The wall that surrounds the garden with its monumental portals and many of the levels that organise the space are examples of works from this century.

Although originally intended as a study garden, in the 19th century, it was also intended to become a leisure space and to be open to the city’s residents. It is now an invitation to enter, because the wall that surrounds the garden opens at regular intervals, through windows or sliding railings. It is now an invitation to take a walk, with paths that favour a leisurely route.

Following the wall to our left, we find another gateway. Designed by Couto dos Santos Leal, it only received its iron gate in 1844, a date inscribed on its top. Next to the lock, we read the name Manuel Bernardes Galinha. Those responsible for the artistic metalwork, similarly to other arts at the time deemed minor, are often undervalued. Here the blacksmith left his signature. The statue opposite shows Avelar Brotero in his professorial attire. A renowned Portuguese botanist of international prestige, he took over the direction of the garden at the end of the 18th century.