The Black Poplar of the Certosa

This poplar stands alone in the middle of what is effectively an accidental nature reserve. The Certosa takes its name from a Carthusian monastery founded here in 1424, abandoned under Napoleon, then used for over a century as a military store and firing range before the Italian army finally left in 1997. Left to itself for decades, the 22 hectare island grew wild: stands of white poplar, black poplar and ash now cover ground that soldiers once marched across, described by the site's own conservation literature as one of few places where the lagoon's original sandy-soil vegetation can still be studied directly. The black poplar growing at the heart of this wild wood is repeatedly singled out in local sources as one of the largest of its kind rooted in the island's sandy ground, though none gives it a specific age or trunk measurement, so its exact age is unverified. A public urban park opened on part of the island in 2013, and the whole site is now open from dawn to sunset, a quiet contrast to the crowds a ten minute boat ride away.