This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

In the countryside surrounding Santa Maria Arabona, a district of the Municipality of Manoppello (in the province of Pescara), the Giancarlo Cipressi Arboretum was created in the spring of 2013.

The place, bravely realised by Cinzia Toto (journalist, editor of “Gardenia” and plant enthusiast) is dedicated to the memory of Giancarlo Cipressi (agronomist, mayor of Manoppello from 1983 to 1988 and big tree lover). This hides the objective of the collection: to become a place of learning, chiefly for the youngest, “an open-air schoolroom” to closely observe and know nature.

It extends on 1 hectare and gathers more than 90 endemic trees and shrubs, like common oak (Quercus robur), Aleppo pine, Ginkgo biloba, yew, strawberry tree, camphor, hornbeam, carob, beech, sweetgum, dove-tree (Davidia involucrata), quince and olive. There grows also a plant that descends from the Nagasaki persimmon that survived the atomic bomb.

The arboretum hosts shows, exhibitions and events dedicated to the landscape and its conservation, whereas the small library (with about 90 books about trees: from manuals to recognise  the various species to illustrated books for children) is always open to the public.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)