The Tree of St. Francis's Time
roughly 850 to 1,000 years, per a sign at the siteHolm Oak
Which one is it? The holm oak beside the path near the Grotta di San Francesco carrying its own sign, Albero del tempo di San Francesco; small and gnarled rather than large.
This was the first tree Italy ever entered on its national register of monumental trees. Entry number one is a holm oak at the Eremo delle Carceri, standing beside the path to the cave where Francis of Assisi withdrew to pray. A sign at the site calls it the Albero del tempo di San Francesco, the tree of St Francis's time, and gives it 850 to 1,000 years, which would put it here before he was. Read that as the hermitage's claim rather than as a measurement: it is a devotional attribution, not a growth-rate estimate, and two metres of girth is modest for a holm oak of nine centuries. What is not in doubt is why the register wanted it. Its sheet carries criterion g, historic and religious value, alongside age and size, which is the state saying out loud that this tree matters for what happened next to it. It is a small, hard-worn tree, nine metres tall with a crown of four, which for a species that can spread twenty says everything about 800 metres of altitude and thin limestone soil. It stands inside a holm oak wood of roughly fifty hectares, described locally as one of the most important in central Italy. The hermitage is open daily and entry is free. Nobody has dated the tree by measurement. If someone has, tell us.
The button above opens directions in your maps app. 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
- Species
- Holm Oak (Quercus ilex)
- Age estimate
- roughly 850 to 1,000 years, per a sign at the site
- Location
- Eremo delle Carceri, near the Grotta di San Francesco, Monte Subasio, Assisi (Eremo delle Carceri, a Franciscan hermitage on the wooded slope of Monte Subasio, about 4km from Assisi's centre)
- Access
- 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 beside the path near the Grotta di San Francesco within the hermitage grounds.
- Getting there
- 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
Trees nearby
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