Minerva Garden is the first example of a medieval “botanical garden” that associates the collection and cultivation of simple plants used for therapeutic purposes with the academic, didactic and scientific function. Therefore, Minerva Garden is a precursor of modern botanical gardens. Today, in addition to the function of the garden of the simple, that is a garden of growing fresh plants to show to students for recognition and classification exercises, the Garden offers Herbariums, Botanical Tables and Index Seminum, the catalog of seeds preserved in the collections.

The collections of the Minerva Garden, cataloged and documented over time, in addition to the medicinal plants of the Mediterranean area, are also rich in plants from different and rare areas. Herbarium and Index Seminum perform both a dissemination function for the public visiting the garden and a scientific resource for scholars and students. Herbarium and Index Seminum support research, education and environmental awareness activities for the new generations as well as a function of preserving biodiversity.