Museo Botanico "Orazio Comes" Portici

The Museo Botanico "Orazio Comes" at the Reggia di Portici forms part of MUSA, the museum system of the University of Naples Federico II. Its origins lie in the 19th century Royal Higher School of Agriculture, where the first professor of Botany, Nicola Antonio Pedicino, began assembling scientific collections. The museum takes its name from Orazio Comes, who between 1877 and 1917 built up a remarkable scientific heritage, centred on a herbarium assembled through research expeditions and the acquisition of major collections. Among the holdings are some of the oldest herbaria in Europe — isotope dating and watermark analysis have confirmed specimens from the 16th and 17th centuries — including material from Vincenzo Petagna, Domenico Cirillo, Michele Tenore, Giovanni Gussone, and others. Additional collections include 19th-century watercolours of fruit and vegetables, didactic glassware, historical printing plates, Albert Peter wall charts, the Xilotomoteca italica di Adriano Fiori, and the Lichenes Europaei collection.