The Botanical Garden was founded in the 18th Century but was originally built between 1762 and 1769 in the eastern part of the city. The gardens were moved to their present site in 1851 thanks to Giovanni Meloni Baille, a professor of Natural Science. The reason for the move was due to the presence of sea winds and a sandy soil. The area chosen is in the Palabanda valley was occupied already in Roman times, and for this reason in the garden there has some archaeological remains, like a calidarium, called Gennari Cave.
