Faverghera in the Belluno Pre-Alps at 1500-1600 m a.s.l., on calcareous substrate. The garden was founded by Virginio Rotelli and Francesco Caldart. Nowadays, the structure is mainly devoted to research and cultural activities concerning the flora and vegetation of the Belluno Province and the Dolomites in general. The flora found within the Botanical Garden is representative of the Eastern Alps,
and its structure reflects the phytogeographic and ecological features of the species. More or less 350 taxa are cultivated, while 400 are naturally present. The attention of the visitors is stimulated by much information on plant diversity and rare or endemic species. Each species is labelled and a drawing, the Latin name, the vernacular name, the family, and information on its ecology are given for each plant. Red listed species or prioritary EU species (Habitats Directive) are labelled with distinctive tables. Moreover, medicinal plants or particular systematic groups (e.g. Orchidaceae, Salix spp., ferns) are described in more detail. Three main itineraries can be visited. The most important one is devoted to plants and it can be divided into three parts, in which both artificial and natural habitats are represented. In the first two parts the most typical alpine environment (i.e. that situated above the tree line) hosts several interesting and wonderful species. The third part is devoted to the natural vegetation of the nature reserve. An intinerary dedicated to geomorphology and karst phenomena was developed within the reserve. Both the epigeanc karst landscape (e.g. Karren, dolinas) and hypogean cavities are described in detail. Finally, a panoramic itinerary, which allows admiring most of the Dolomiti Bellunesi chain and several peaks of the inner Dolomites.
