If Liguria is a necklace, its monumental trees represent its most significant natural pearls. Observing this true natural heritage you have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a centuries-long history, dotted with a culture that grew in the shade of its centuries-old trees. Symbol of defense, border, culture and belonging, the centuries-old tree is a point of reference in the tradition of a people. Precisely to underline their importance and promote their protection, monumental trees are regulated by a law and included in a list, which in Italy has now reached 1548 Municipalities that can boast at least one.
These specimens of majesty, long-lived like the inhabitants of the small municipalities that host them – 962 in all of Italy – can be part of woodland formations or find themselves isolated in the heart of an ancient medieval village. In Liguria, the latest census – dated 2023 – indicates an amount of 139, distributed both in coastal and urban areas and in forested and mountainous areas. Within the metropolitan city of Genoa alone, 52 specimens can be found, located in 17 municipalities, followed by the province of Savona, with 38 monumental trees, Imperia with 27 and La Spezia with 22 total trees. In addition to the quantity of trees, it is interesting to note that the species that make up this precious list are 58. This demonstrates a heterogeneity that comes to us directly from the past and underlines the ability of this land to host a very large plant heritage, both indigenous and allochthonous. “From wisteria to redwoods, from palms to other exotic trees; but also beeches, chestnuts, ficuses and holm oaks: Liguria possesses an immense wealth whose valorization is fundamental, especially in the current context of climate change and hydrogeological instability,” comment Gianluca Boeri and Bruno Rivarossa, President of Coldiretti Liguria and Confederal Delegate.
