Cartoon Maxine On Birthdays

Picture of the Month - January 2011

"Cerquabella"

were, and still are, many oak trees that have this name, but the real, unique Cerquabella was this, the noble to deserve (a unique case in Italy) a rod location on maps of the Touring Club, so famous as to be known since Emiliano Apennines as the most beautiful oak Italy. His appearances on publications di ogni genere non si contavano più. Una citazione era stata fatta in "Il patrimonio vegetale delle Marche", edito dalla Regione Marche nel 1981. Le dimensioni erano di 5,60 metri la circonferenza del fusto, 34 metri il diametro della chioma. Era tale l'affetto che i suoi concittadini, gli abitanti di Montegiorgio, nutrivano per questa pianta, che essa veniva chiamata non solo con il suo nomignolo, ma addirittura senza articolo, così, semplicemente Cerquabella, come si direbbe Maria, Angese, Teresa. La sua biografia era ricchissima di episodi e di aneddoti. Sotto la sua chioma per secoli avevano bivaccato carovane di zingari e la sua ombra aveva offerto riparo a tante famiglie nella tradizionale scampagnata del Primo Maggio. Cerquabella aveva anche visto the murder of his daughter. This was a few meters from her, the same as her, but half the size: it was sacrificed to widen the roadway near Faleriense. But for now Cerquabella was his hour arrived, and in 1984 he noticed the first signs. In the spring of 1985 the giant woke up again, but the leaves were very few and distributed only on some parts. Valid, happened on the spot with others, picked up some acorns and planted a seed in an attempt to ensure the exceptional plant, but they had already lost all ability to germinate. New winter, new spring. In 1986, its neighbors peered long, every day, hoping to see some bud maybe even with a late bloom, until it surrendered: Cerquabella was gone. His body remained intact for some time, but in the end the council was forced to remove all the branches, which might fall on some curious or passerby. Today Cerquabella is reduced to a ruin, which is impressive for its size and for all the allegorical meanings that seem to convey to the observer. Cerquabella was a tree that would have deserved a monument for its unparalleled beauty, but there was no need: his is whether the monument erected by itself.

from "Monumental Trees of the Marches" Valid Capodarca and State Forestry; Editions Roberto Scocco, Macerata, 2008.