Tuesday, August 21, 2007



thanks Benny for this photo of Il Castagno dei Cento Cavalli or the Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses

"The Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses (Italian: Castagno dei Cento Cavalli) is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world.[1][2] Located on Linguaglossa road in Sant'Alfio, on the eastern slope of Mount Etna in Sicily[3] — only 8 km (5 miles) from the mountain's crater — it is generally believed to be 2,000 to 4,000 years old[4] It is a Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa, family Fagaceae). Guinness World Records has listed it for the record of 'Greatest Tree Girth Ever', noting that it had a circumference of 57.9 m (190 ft) when it was measured in 1780. Above-ground the tree has since split into multiple large trunks, but below-ground these trunks still share the same roots.

The tree's name originated from a legend in which a queen of Aragon and her company of one hundred knights, during a trip to Mount Etna, were caught in a severe thunderstorm. The entire cavalry is said to have taken shelter under the tree."