Exotic plants originally traveled to Rome with traders, immigrants and animals from other countries. Roman emperors encouraged the cultivation and study of exotic plants, and some, such as Hadrian who ruled from 117 to 138 A.D., even kept their own gardens.
During the 1600s, private family gardens were cultivated throughout Rome, many of which remain, like the Giardini Segreti of Villa Borghese. Often designed to create fragrant scents, which were believed medicinal, these gardens still contain many aromatic plants, like lemon trees, orange marigolds, sage and lavender.
More than 7,000 plant species, representing hundreds of regions around the world, can be found throughout Roman gardens. These include citrus trees from Portugal and fan palms from California, as well as rare orchids, cacti gardens and rose species that date from the 1600s and 1700s.
One of the most impressive collections of exotic plants can be found in the Orto Botanica, or the Botanical Gardens of Rome. Other locations for exotic plants in Rome include the Giardino degili Aranci, the La Mortella Gardens, the Castello Principesco Gardens and the Giardino Botanica.
Though in the metropolitan center of Rome, the Orto Botanica can be easily missed, with its entrance gates hidden at the end of a tree-lined street. Reminiscent of private gardens during the Baroque period, the Orto Botanica has a scent garden for the visually impaired.
