There are several in the world millennial trees, survivors of the transformation of the world, guardians of the stories of the peoples they have watched over for centuries. This could be the case with the Curinga plane tree (Calabria), a majestic tree of 31,5 meters in height and 14,75 meters in circumference, the only Italian candidate in the competitionEuropean tree of the year 2021. This is an initiative born in 2011 and organized byEnvironmental Partnership Association, which every year rewards themost loved tree in Europe. Other candidates for the coveted award include two oaks (Czech Republic and Slovakia), a lime (Romania), others two plane trees (Bulgaria and Hungary), a poplar di 300 years (France) and a chestnut "with 4 trunks"of 160 years, survived the bombings of the world wars (Belgium).

Curinga plane tree - Curinga plane tree (Catanzaro)
Photo: © Curinghese - Wikimedia Commons.

Il Platano di Curinga: the beloved giant with a cave in its heart

The Platano di Curinga is located a few kilometers from the city of Curinga (Catanzaro), in the territory ofHermitage of Sant'Elia. It is said that it was precisely the Basilian monks who built the hermitage, more than a millennium ago, but there are those who assure that it is even older. Over time, also thanks to the waters of the spring Hymn, this plane tree has become more and more majestic and today it is the largest plane tree in Italy. The trunk of the tree is now hollow and its particular structure creates a sort of cave di 3 meters wide. As reported by the association's official website, "whoever enters it has the sensation of being inside an incredible wooded cave".

This wonderful plane tree, already winner of the competitionItalian tree 2020, could now also get a significant new international award. Currently the Platano di Curinga is in second place in the standings, a few hundred votes from Millennial Carrasca di Lecina (Spain), called "the witch tree”Because, according to legend, the hags that populated the Guara mountains they used to dance around this giant holm oak. It will be possible to vote for your favorite tree on the threeoftheyear.com website, until the February 28. You can choose up to two trees different and then confirm the vote by entering your e-mail address. The winner's award ceremony will then take place a Brussels il 17 March 2021, in the headquarters of European Parliament. There are still two weeks to go and the chances of winning are still high. Good luck and long life to the millennial Platano di Curinga.

Il Platano di Curinga finalist in the 2021 European Tree competition last edit: 2021-02-15T09:00:00+01:00 da Antonello Ciccarello

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