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Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae)

Around the mid-1800s, Giovanni Piacenza decided to transform a bare hill in the province of Biella into a park inspired by the English gardens of the 1700s.
In 1868, Burcina di Pollone Park was recognized as a commendable example of mountain reforestation.

Inside the park, there are five monumental trees, five magnificent sequoias of the same age, planted in 1848 by Felice Piacenza to celebrate the Albertine Statute.
Those trees were the first of that very species to be introduced in Italy.

Their circumference ranges between 13.7 and 19 ft, while the soar to different heights between 115 ft and 152 ft.

The park on the hill and its sequoias are definitely worth a visit.

How to get there:

From Biella, visitors can reach the municipality of Pollone and Burcina Park in just 10 minutes.

Botanical Card:

The evergreen sequoia is native to the west coast of North America where it grows spontaneously up to 361 ft in height, while in Europe (where it was introduced as an ornamental species around the mid-XIX century) it hardly ever exceeds 82-99 ft. The species represents a relic of prehistoric vegetation.

The evergreen sequoia is one of the tallest trees in the world.
The tree has a narrow and columnar appearance with branches that tend to grow horizontally to the ground. The wood is light, tender, fibrous with a reddish-brown colour, while the bark is very thick.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)