It is located at Via Irnerio, 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy, and open daily except Mondays.

Although early records indicate a Bolognese medicinal herb garden dating to 1365, today's garden arose from the proposals of botanist Luca Ghini (1490-1556), who left to create the Orto botanico di Pisa, and became a reality under his successor Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605).

Those first gardens were located in the Palazzo Pubblico, in a courtyard near today's Sala Borsa, but partially moved in 1587 to a larger site in Borghetto S. Giuliano (today's Porta S. Stefano), with an area of about 5000 m2.

In 1740 the garden moved to Porta S. Stefano, followed in 1745 by the construction of a hybernaculum, where exotic plants were kept during the winter.

Neoclassical greenhouses were added in 1765, to designs by Francesco Tadolini, and still stand in Via San Giuliano.