The Strawberry Tree of Via alla Rocca

Most strawberry trees are shrubs you can see over the top of. This one is 16 metres tall with a trunk 355 centimetres round, which for Arbutus unedo is close to the ceiling of what the species does. It grows in the public park below the Rocca, the medieval fortress crowning Bergamo's upper town, and locally it is read as a symbol of strength and resistance. That reading is not sentiment. The species carries dark green leaves, white flowers and red fruit on the same branches at the same time, and nineteenth century Italian patriots noticed the tricolour and adopted it, which makes its position under a fortress about as pointed as a planting gets. The strawberry tree is slow, hard and stubborn, native to Mediterranean scrub, and it flowers in late autumn while the previous year's fruit is still ripening, so October and November give you both colours on one branch. The fruit is edible and dull, which is what the Latin name says: unedo, eat only one. Beyond the national register, which lists it on girth and height alone, a single local source names it, so who planted it and when has not survived. The Rocca grounds are free, reached on foot or by the funicular from the lower town and then a short climb.