The Roseto Botanico di Cavriglia "Carla Fineschi" About Page

La Fondazione Roseto Botanico
di Cavriglia "Carla Fineschi"

World Federation Of Rose Societies Specialized Committee on Conservation

General Information for Visitors

Cavriglia is one of the many small communities of Italy, situated in a valley of the Arno in the province of Arezzo. The garden is located equidistant from Florence, Siena and Arezzo, and is very close to the Autostrada (exit at San Giovani Valdarno; follow signs to Cavriglia). All visits to the Roseto should be scheduled during the months of May and June The peak of bloom is usually from approximately 20 May to 10 June. During that period, the garden is open daily from 08:00 to 20:00. There is a per-person admission fee of €5.

To obtain additional information about visits to the Roseto, please write or fax us at the address below. Group visits should be arranged with a minimum of 1 month notice (2 months if a catered lunch is desired). Guided tours (Italian, French & English language) can also be arranged.

       Fondazione Roseto Botanico "Carla Fineschi"
       I-52022 Cavriglia - AR
       Italy
       Tel. & Fax: 055-966638

The Foundation

Introduction

The Roseto di Cavriglia is, in reality, a botanical garden which encompasses completely a genus of plant of much scientific and historical value and which has for its objective the collection of the greatest possible number of authentic examples for study and research, and, at the same time, to offer other lovers of the species a "living museum" of rare beauty and of attractive detail.

The Roseto at Cavriglia is one of the few private rose gardens of its size which exist in the world today, and it is funded completely thru donations. (Please click here if you would like information about making a contribution).

The Structure of the Roseto

The system of the Roseto obeys rigorously the traditional botanical structure, to which effect the roses have been planted separately in subdivisions of Section, Species, Sub-species, and hybrids (of very complex lineage).
Each plant is marked with a tag containing basic identifying information (its botanical name, year of introduction in Europe, and hybridizer, if applicable). The Roseto currently contains approximately 7000 unique cultivars, some of which were already thought to be extinct, and it is possible to say with certainty that, thanks to such an enormous amount of plants, in it is represented the nearly complete history of the rose in all its ages and with all its cultural and scientific references

Requirements for Configuration of the Fondazione

The Roseto at Cavriglia is the result of more than 30 years of work by Professor Gianfranco Fineschi, who has devoted much time, energy, enthusiasm, and financial resources to its realization. The Roseto of Cavriglia carries the name of "Carla Fineschi" in memory of the fact that this person collaborated in growth and the development of Roseto, thanks to her elevated organizational abilities and profound dedication. However, the economic problems of maintenance and increase of Roseto of this kind, which remained for 26 years a private garden, could not not be ignored, and the only way to insure a durable future was to establish the Fondazione.

The Scope of the Fondazione

The Foundation has as its primary objective scientific study and research in the field of botany, with the goals of collecting, cataloging, maintaining and preserving surviving examples of the genus Rosa in its respective sections, species and hybrids.
Such work must be carried out in close connection with universities and institutions of scientific and ecological nature, interested in the maintenance and the development of such botanical and genealogical information. In order to realize such purposes the Foundation will take care of the promotion and, when possible, also the realization of all the initiatives of producing cultural and social interest as needed, the publication and the dissemination of books and periodicals, the extension participation and exposure, the organization of meetings, symposia, conventions and seminars, and the promotion of activity of integrated formation dedicated to young investigators or technicians of the field.
The Roseto at Cavriglia it will stretch, therefore, to always emphasize more its connotations as a living botanical laboratory, open to all those institutions and agencies of research who wish to make use of it.

World Federation Of Rose Societies
Specialized Committee on Conservation

Over the past 3 years, the Roseto Botanico "Carla Fineschi" has been an active member of the Specialized Conservation Committee, under the chairmanship of Helga Brichet. The goals of this committee include the following: