The famous holm oak at the Eremo delle Carceri is the small one. Two hundred metres along the same path stands its neighbour: three metres round, 23 metres tall, a crown spreading sixteen, and second place in Umbria's regional register of monumental trees. It has no sign, no name of its own and no legend attached, which is most of the reason people walk past it. It grows on a scarp beside the path down to the sanctuary, on ground held in place by a dry-stone retaining wall. Look at the wall as well as the tree. A holm oak this size on a slope at 795 metres needs its root plate to stay where it was put, and somebody at some point decided this one was worth the masonry. The rest of the story is the wood: fifty-odd hectares of holm oak covering this side of Monte Subasio, the forest the first Franciscans built their cells into, and the reason the hermitage sits where it does. Two of its trees are on the national register by name and this is the larger of them. The Eremo is open daily and entry is free. Nobody has dated it. Its neighbour got a sign and a tradition; this one got a tape measure. If you know how old it is, tell us.
The line is our estimate of how much there is to see, not a measurement. Typical for this species where this tree stands; exact weeks shift with the year.
Eremo delle Carceri, along the path to the sanctuary, Monte Subasio, AssisiTwo hundred metres further along the sanctuary path from the signed tree, a bigger, unmarked holm oak growing on a scarp held by a dry-stone retaining wall.
Free. The Eremo delle Carceri hermitage is open to the public daily (roughly 6:30/7:30 to 18:00/19:00 depending on season), entry always free, per its own site (santuarioeremodellecarceri.org). This tree stands on a scarp beside the path to the sanctuary, held by a dry-stone retaining wall per the register/Wikipedia description.
About 4km uphill from Assisi's historic centre, reachable by road or the marked path through Monte Subasio's holm oak wood; no public transport, most visitors drive, walk or take a taxi
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
- In the official register: Elenco degli alberi monumentali d'Italia (MASAF), no. 04/A475/PG/10
- it.wikipedia.org
- montagneaperte.it
- MASAF, Elenco degli alberi monumentali d'Italia (Italy's national register of monumental trees), no. 04/A475/PG/10