For about 3 years, the visit of the Jeronimos Monastery - UNESCO heritage site - has been enriched by an external intervention. It consists of a small garden located in front of the architectural complex, where 25 plots host some of the botanical species that were carved in the church and cloister in the 16th century.

Here, the imaginary garden of the monastery becomes a real garden. Each plot contains a tree or flower species, and an identifying plaque displays its name and a brief description, along with a graphic representation, an artistic depiction, and the location of the sculpture in the monastery.



In this way, the architectural space is extended beyond its walled perimeter through a cultural operation that allows visitors to trace back to ancient times of plants and flowers that belonged to the usage and imagery of a distant past, but which still remain part of our time. Thanks to the 2000 project "Plants in European Masterpieces" the entire botanical heritage carved into the monastery complex has been identified, located, and classified. 



This intervention demonstrates how it is possible to combine humanistic study and scientific research with a cultural operation that benefits the community and the quality of urban space, enhancing our awareness of the place, its historical and heritage value, and, above all, enriching the idea of human beauty, which no longer remains passive in the face of history and wonders passed down to today, but recognizes itself as part of it, even in its everyday life. Thus, perceiving beauty in the mundane passage of everyday life becomes possible for everyone.