This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Castanea sativa (Fagaceae)

This huge chestnut tree grows in a cultivated field on private property, in the municipality of Mascali (Catania). The tree has a raised stump that looks like the hull of a sailing ship (that’s why it is called “Castagno della Nave” – “The ship chestnut tree”) and which extrudes three main branches – the largest has a circumference of some 13 ft, while the tree soars to the height of 82 ft. This beautiful specimen is between 1.000 and 2.000 years old: it is acknowledged as the second oldest and biggest in Italy.

The millenary tree is also called “Castagno di S. Agata” or” Arrisbigghiasonnu” (“the one who wakes you from sleep”) because its low branches promptly caught the attention the tired cart drivers passing under them or due to the uninterrupted chirping of the birds among its foliage.

How to get there:

This tree is located about 1.968 ft from the more famous “Chestnut of the Hundred Horses” (see dedicated page), along the provincial road n.84 that connects Sant’Alfio to Linguaglossa, at an intersection on the border with the municipality of Mascali (Catania).

Botanical Card

The common chestnut is widely spread throughout Southern Europe, boosted, in the ancient centuries, by human cultivation for its nutritious fruits. This species is moderately heliophilic and suffers from late frosts. It grows well in the presence of a sub-oceanic climate, while it tends to avoid continental environments. It prefers loose, fresh soils, rich in nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus, with an acidic or sub-acid reaction.

The typical chestnut tree grows at between 656 ft and 2.700 ft above sea level in the Alps, while it tends to reach higher altitudes, 3.280-4.265 ft, in the southern Apennines. This species is mainly cultivated for its fruits, while the tannin in its bark is used for hides. Chestnut trees are also appreciated as an excellent firewood.

The Castanea sativa Mill. is a large deciduous and very long-lived tree, which can live for more than 500 years. It belongs to the family and originated in south-east Europe. It is a moderately thermophilic and heliophilous plant that can vigorously re-grow when coppiced. Its root system is not very deep and prefers loose soils rich in potassium and phosphorus with a slightly acid reaction.

In Italy, chestnut trees can be found throughout the mountain range of the Apennines and the major islands, as well as in the foothills of the Alps. It is cultivated for the production of chestnuts and wood.
Grinding the fruits, a precious flour is obtained – it used to be an essential ingredient of rural food, also thanks to its high caloric content.

Chestnut trees are highly melliferous and pollinating plants, which have found their perfect place also in many apiaries. Chestnut honey is particularly rich in fructose, has a dark colour, a bitter aftertaste and can avoid crystallization for a long time.
The wood is more resistant than that of other trees and is thus suitable for outdoor furnishing.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)