Piedmont ranks third among the Italian regions with the largest wooded area with 9,754 km covered by woods and forests which, for the most part, are located within small municipalities. In total in Piedmont there are 319 monumental trees of which 221 are in small municipalities. This is what Coldiretti Piemonte makes known regarding the report “Small Municipalities and Monumental Trees of Italy 2024”, promoted by the Symbola Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Coldiretti, Fai Cisl, AMI Monumental Trees of ‘Italy which was presented at Palazzo Rospigliosi, in Rome, where the president of Coldiretti Piemonte, Cristina Brizzolari, was present.
The report leads us to the discovery of over 250 species of monumental trees that populate the country, which also shows a special relationship between small municipalities and Italian monuments, collected in a continuously growing census thanks to the work of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry. Out of a total of 4,287 monumental trees identified in April 2024 on Italian territory, 2,107 are found in small municipalities. Furthermore, there are 1,548 Italian municipalities with at least one monumental tree, of which 962 are small municipalities.
“Piedmont has a huge variety of green monuments and agriculture has become increasingly central in the protection of the environment, ensuring constant maintenance of the territory and protection of the landscape, both in terms of protection from hydrogeological instability and defense of its beauties and its biodiversity, of which the monumental trees undoubtedly represent an invaluable heritage, also from a tourist point of view – they say Cristina Brizzolaripresident of Coldiretti Piemonte, e Bruno Rivarossa, confederal delegate -. A role recognized by the Orientation Law, strongly desired by Coldiretti, which has now been strengthened by the new figure of the “guardian” farmer. In addition to the conservation and valorization of local productions, from the breeding of native breeds to the cultivation of plant varieties, agricultural companies have become qualified interlocutors of public administrations for the management of the territory, starting precisely from the defense of monumental plant and tree formations. These are principles on which Coldiretti has based its strategy, namely the valorisation of quality, sustainable and environmentally friendly production systems supported by innovation to make Italian production increasingly competitive and guarantee an adequate income for farmers also thanks to support related activities to thus attract a growing number of young people”.
