Hanbury Botanic Gardens in Italia

Italia Post issued the single stamp features the Hanbury Botanic Gardens on May 29, 2010.The gardens were established by Sir Thomas Hanbury on a small, steep peninsula jutting southwards from an altitude of 103 meters down into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Hanbury Botanic Gardens in Ventimiglia  has depicted on stamp with  the background image of  Villa Hanbury, looking onto the Ligurian Sea and nestling amid the characteristic Mediterranean maquis vegetation and rare exotic plants.The markings on stamp shown the words “GIARDINI BOTANICI HANBURY” (Hanbury botanical gardens), “ITALIA”, and the denomination “€ 0,60” complete the stamp .

The Giardini Botanici Hanbury  are major botanical gardens operated by the University of Genoa. They are located at Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore, several km west of Ventimiglia, Italy.The total area is 18 hectares.Today 9 of the gardens' 18 hectares are under cultivation, and contain about 2500 taxa. Many of the species are plants of Mediterranean climates from the six Mediterranean climate zones of the world.

The gardens contain a number of interesting features: including a stretch of Roman road; grottos; garden statuary; fountains; a bronze dragon from Kyoto and a Japanese bell dated 1764; and the fanciful Moroccan pavilion at the tomb of Hanbury and his wife and Museo Moresco.