The Giant Tree of Curinga

Calabria is full of beautiful woodlands, with all manner of plants attesting to the region’s great biodiversity. One monumental tree has garnered great interest over recent years. The locals refer to it as “il Gigante di Curinga” or the Curinga Giant, an enormous plane tree over a thousand years old.

IL GIGANTE DI CURINGA

The tree has become so famous that it won “Italian Tree of the Year” in 2020 and took second place in the “European Tree of the Year” contest in 2021. Il Gigante di Curinga is Italy’s oldest and largest plane tree. The trunk has a diameter of over 3 meters (10 feet) and is almost completely hollow at its base. The circumference measures 14¾ meters (almost 48½ feet) and its height reaches 31½ meters (about 103½ feet)!

Gigante di Curinga

According to legend, a Basilian monk planted the oriental plane tree over a thousand years ago on the bank of a stream near his retreat. The hermitage grew into the Monastero di Sant’Elia Vecchio, the old monastery dedicated to Elijah, father of the Carmelites and patron against drought. The ruins of the pre-Norman sanctuary are visible today.

Ruins of the old monastery “Sant’Elia”

Area inhabitance dates back well before the Greeks and there’s even the remains of a Roman bath in the town’s Acconia district.

VISITING THE GIANT PLANE TREE

View out to the Tyrrhenian Sea from Curinga

Curinga is located just south of Lamezia Terme and has an excellent view of the Gulf of Sant’Eufemia from its hilltop position. You need to wind eastward to the other side of the town center to come to the giant tree. On the roadside pullout, the only other car on the morning of my visit belonged to a German couple that was resting on a bench on their way up as I was descending. Luckily for the tree’s sake, you have to walk down a slope to see it. Otherwise, it would have been trampled long ago.

The walk in the woods really does bring about the tranquility of the experience, perhaps even evokes a nature-inspired religiosity, however brief the visit may last. Of course, I needed to take a few pictures for my blog, and I realized that it wasn’t an easy task. The tree didn’t pop like some of Calabria’s more frequently pictured sites, such as Tropea’s Santa Maria dell’Isola, surrounded by glistening aqua water, practically an international phenomenon at this point, or Morano Calabro, wrapped around a hill like a nativity scene, but still off-the-beaten-path for the casual tourist.

I tried a selfie.

Author selfie with the giant plane tree of Curinga

CURINGA’S ANCIENT PLANE TREE

Photos do not do the tree justice. You can’t feel the grandeur, breathe the fresh air or be enveloped by the sounds, the stream’s steady flow, the rustling of the leaves, the conversations amongst birds.

The tree must be enjoyed from the path, behind the wooden fence that surrounds the area. The low enclosure hasn’t stopped people from getting closer and posing in and on the tree, so a few surveillance cameras have been put in place. I didn’t test them out.

Il Gigante di Curinga

In person, il Gigante di Curinga is truly impressive. You’ll have to take my word for it.

Experience Southern Italy’s beautiful nature for yourself on one of my small-group Calabria Tours (three different itineraries) or on my Basilicata Tour of Calabria’s northern neighbor.

Read about the fascinating Calabrian region in my book Calabria: The Other Italy, described by Publisher’s Weekly as “an intoxicating blend of humor, joy, and reverence for this area in Italy’s deep south,” and explore Calabria’s northern neighbor in my book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, “recommended to readers who appreciate all things Italian” by the Library Journal.

Follow me on social media: Basilicata Facebook page, Calabria: The Other Italy’s Facebook page, Karen’s Instagram and Karen’s Twitter for beautiful pictures and information.
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CALABRIA: The Other Italy and BASILICATA: Authentic Italy make great gifts!