Nature is abundant in Coimbra. The old Sereia Garden blends with the rhythm and history of the surrounding streets, even with Praça da República, the center of a certain world. But down below, by the Mondego River, there is the City Park, also covered by the scent of greenery and the antics of students. Or, further ahead, with different proportions but the same inaugural force of the world, Choupal Forest offers an endless area to breathe. I could name many more examples: the Gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas, Penedo da Saudade, among many others.
The Botanical Garden is related to all these places. Descending from the University or ascending from Praça da República, we awaken from thought, and suddenly, we are deep inside it. Passing through the arched gate, we observe the garden from above, surveying it with our gaze. In front of us, the green of multiple species, plants sculpted by the gardeners’ shears, canopies planned by nature itself, the layout of paths.
We enter this geometry accompanied by the sound of our steps on the smooth ground, stepping on shadows of trees cut by the sun. In the lake that marks the intersection of four straight lines, four cardinal points, algae survive in the passage of water, following the forms of the fountain; it’s a soft and bright green. The sound of water nourishes this afternoon, merging with the voices of children.
Birds are thrown into the air, happy as children. The air is lighter, its freshness is intense, it enters deep into the lungs. We advance among bamboos. On the edges of the path, there are vertical, parallel, and oblique lines. Couples who couldn’t resist leaving their initials engraved have passed here. Those memories are also part of nature.
In other sites of the garden, strangler figs teach us lessons with their enormous roots, embedded in the earth. It is unclear who supports whom. Is it the earth that sustains these monumental trees? Or are these trees that sustain the living earth? One does not exist without the other. There is the entirety of the earth, this planet to which we belong, and there are the trees, these giant trunks, branches that open to the sky as if creating a new, absolutely green sky.
The Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra was a pleasure that I learned during the years I lived in this city. Every minute spent in this vegetal world is a privilege. In the time we dedicate to it, there is communion with the most fundamental elements, the most important ones. This nature is a path that leads us to our own nature, a reunion with ourselves. Later on, the memory of the time we spent here is itself a garden to which we can always return, where we find a very special kind of calm, so necessary for all ages of our life. More than a refuge, it is a place in the city, it’s not clear who it belongs to whom. This is the secret heart of Coimbra, pumping sap and serenity, nourishing fado music to the souls of students, giving meaning to all the words.
