Natura Mirabilis is an invitation to step in and allow oneself to be present, between art and nature, between the Museum and the Gulbenkian Garden, travelling through time to share the pleasure felt by Armenian philanthropist Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian when immersed in his greatest passions.

The project has two components: the book “Natura Mirabilis: between Art and Nature”, with texts by researcher Susana Neves and a group of curators from the Museum, and a path in the garden that explores 12 works from the Museum.

The book is the result of a collaboration that the Museum began in 2024 with the prestigious publisher Franco Maria Ricci and reflects not only the investigation of Susana Neves into a diverse set of pieces from the Museum, but also the work of a number of its curators. The juxtaposition of photographs from the collection with landscapes offers a fresh perspective on the works in the Collection. The book is available for purchase on the Foundation’s website and in its stores.

The garden path, which is the result of a collaboration between the Gulbenkian Museum and Garden teams, includes 12 listening points that refer to works of art specially selected for those locations. The path begins “in an area where the forest meets the glade, a familiar setting that evokes memories of other landscapes or artistic references, such as the view of Üsküdar (Calouste Gulbenkian’s hometown), also characterised by vertical elements, such as the cypress trees” seen in the garden and in Félix Ziem’s painting, Cypresses in Scutari, narrates Paula Côrte-Real. It ends with Susana Neves discussing a collection of 60 porcelain plates, depicting 240 different species of birds from various continents, some of which can be found in the garden.

This itinerary will be open to the public in the garden from 18 November 2025 to 20 October 2026.