Classified as a massive tree because it is "of particular public interest." In fact, in 2017, it obtained MiBACT recognition becoming the first Green Monument in Italy...
The Val d’Orcia, a #UNESCO World Heritage Site, includes the historic centers and much of the territory of the municipalities of Castiglione d’Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, San Quirico d’Orcia... #tuttitaly
In the Val d'Orcia, in the locality of Le Checche, there is the Quercia delle Checche, a specimen of oak, which in June 2017 obtained the MiBACT recognition and is the first green monument in Italy.
The mighty tree boasts an approximate age of nearly 300 years. However, Quercia delle Checche's story began about 370 years ago. In the mid-1600s, the Orcia plain was still covered with extensive oak woods. Almost total deforestation occurred between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century because the section of the Rome - Florence railway was built.
Nevertheless, some plants were spared to allow shade for the peasants, travelers, and armies.
During the Fascist period, the "road of the Val d'Orcia" was built as part of the land reclamation project of the Valley. Even on that occasion, the Quercia delle Checche was preserved by passing the road next to it.
Everything was normal until August 2014, when groups of young people were spotted climbing the huge horizontal branches that almost touched the ground. Thus, on the afternoon of August 15th of the same year, the first large branch of over 22 m collapsed, dragging with it many branches that intersected with it. Following this severe episode, a solid popular mobilization started.
But only in June 2017 the Quercia delle Checche becomes the first green monument in Italy, leading to a significant cultural revolution that sees monuments to be protected and safeguarded not only by the works of man but also by the extraordinary works of nature.
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