Arborum Meridies

Southern Italy is home to a natural heritage that often goes unnoticed: monumental trees, silent witnesses that have been part of the history of the places where they grow for centuries. Olive trees, oaks, chestnut trees, plane trees, and other species thus become part of a landscape that is not only natural but also cultural, because activities, memories, and traditions have developed around these trees—traditions that still belong to local communities today.

Arborum Meridies, a project promoted by the Magna Grecia Foundation, was created to highlight this very heritage and draw attention to trees that are often little known but capable of preserving a profound part of the identity of southern Italy. Through photography and public outreach, the project restores value to specimens that—due to their size, age, or botanical characteristics—represent authentic living monuments, inviting us to view them not merely as elements of the landscape, but as witnesses to the passage of time.

Following the trail of these trees thus means entering a rural and lesser-known Italy, made up of countryside, small villages, and landscapes far from the beaten path. A journey into nature that also becomes a way to rediscover the relationship between the environment and the community, and to understand how the protection of a single plant can help preserve the memory and beauty of an entire region.