The International Foundation pro Herbario Mediterraneo was established in 1992 and recognized by decree of MURST (the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research and Technology) the 1st March 1995. It is settled at the Botanical Garden of the University of Palermo and is chaired by Prince Amedeo di Savoia, Duke of Aosta.
The purpose of this organization is to support the activities of research and study on the Mediterranean flora and in particular those related to the construction, in the city of Palermo, of the Herbarium Mediterraneum, an international scientific structure available to Italian and foreign scholars, supported by OPTIMA (Organization for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area).