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Palms in Italy


fiji jim

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One more University Botanical Garden in Sicily - Orto Botanico di Catania

My pictures of August 2006

Dragon trees and strelitzias

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Centenary Trithrinax campestris, grown from seed many, many years ago.

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Archontophoenix alexandrae

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As you have seen, Southern Italy is a doubtlessly a land of palms.

The three public botanic gardens in Sicily (Catania, Messina and Palermo) are increasing their palm collections in these years. Their climate and their urban emplacement allows succesful long-term growth of tolerant tropical species, such as many Chamaedorea, some New Caledonians or some species of Pritchardia and Coccothrinax.

At the start of the 20th century, they held marvelous collections of rare tropical palms that were decimated during the world wars and by the urban expansion that cut off too many plots. Little was planted in the ground since then until the present decade that witnessed a new burst of interest.

The botanic garden in Napoli keeps a very large Cycad collection because it undertook fruitful expeditions and scientific research on cycads. Cycad enthusiasts will be familiar with names of Caputo, Califano and Merola. Messina and Palermo in Sicily are currently increasing their cycad collection

This could be a neverending picture thread but this is all for a while. I have posted all the pictures I had uploaded!

Carlo

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Carlo - thank you for this pictoral tour.  The timing is perfect, too, as I am planning to visit Sicily this spring.  I'll most likely fly into Palermo then make my way across to the east (where I briefly visited before) so it is nice to have these three botanic gardens to include into the itinerary.

Are there any other 'must see' places you can recommend?

'The Essex Riviera'

Southeast England, UK

winter min usually -5C

Summer max usually 35C

Rainfall usually 20" (500mm)

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Paul,

The three University Botanic Gardens are my favourite places and stand above any other palm display in public places. There are also some private collectors that you might want to meet and visit.

You have already been in Sicily, are not you? Palms are widespread but little diversity has been planted around. Centenary palm plantings can bee seen in many "ville" (city parks in Sicilian) or "viali" and "passeggiate" (avenues, promenades). There also different wild populations of Chamaerops on the island, growing in different conditions. Tell me where and when you go and I will try to help.

Carlo

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Wild Chamaerops among the ruins. . . . wonderful, even among all the other wonders.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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Paul, my wife and I visited Sicily last January.  We barely saw the highlights of the western half of the island in a week.  I highly recommend the ruins at Agrigento, and the mosaics of Villa of Casale, near the charming town of Piazza Armerina.   Be sure to sample the cannoli!

San Francisco, California

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Hi Carlo - thanks for your reply and your offer.  Yes, you are quite right, I visited for 5 days in early spring, but that was really to assist a friend on a 'buying trip' around the east coast and we didn't get much time for sight seeing, just visiting some nurseries.  I say 'just' visiting some nurseries - I should maybe add some FANTASTIC nurseries!  Highlight for me was Vivai Cuba - succulent heaven - but the scale of Piante Faro is pretty awesome.  

Having been rather smitten by the what little I did see of the country I thought this time I'd go on a little 'fly-drive' trip with my wife to see something more of the scenery and cities, so it will need to be plant-lite.  I imagine three botanic gardens are probably as much as I dare fit in without risking divorce!

But thank you for your offer - I reckon the best plan for a palm intensive visit would be to go with a small group of interested folks - both here and Tenerife.  Something to plan for the future, maybe.

Darold - thanks for that - I'll pencil those places in.  I hope to sample much of the local food...

'The Essex Riviera'

Southeast England, UK

winter min usually -5C

Summer max usually 35C

Rainfall usually 20" (500mm)

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That was an unexpected sight, a magnificent experience, even for a native as I am. Selinunte is on the furthest, opposite side of the island to where I am. I had been there as a young kid but did not remember the palms, I knew they were there, but reality was better than fantasy.

Sicilians are used to visit temples and archaeologic sites, with school or family but Selinunte is palmy and divine. The beach is quiet and good, one of the temples "hangs" over the beach -  you can hire a pedaló and watch the temple in a dreamlike experience!

As Pietro Puccio from Palermo pointed out in the Italian palm forum, Selinunte had been called in Ancient Roman literature "Palmosa Selinus", Palmy Selinunte, by Virgilio and "Palmis onusta Selinus", Selinunte full of Palms, by Livio.

It smells like history and Chamaerops is the first "palm" of history, because it is the palm that gives the name to all palms. It is in this species where the Romans noticed the resemblance of a leaf with the palm of a hand and started to call palmae the palms.

Plumae (feathers) was surely the other option  :P  and Palmtalk would be Plumtalk!

Yes to Darold, the ruins in Agrigento, Valle dei Templi, are a beautiful place (and still have some old Phoenix and Washingtonia). The mosaics in Villa del Casale are spectacular and there are a few date palms in the mosaics. There is so much to see, Monreale, right by Palermo is another "enlightening" vision, with golden mosaics with some date palms.

Paul you are not going to get divorced after a trip in Sicily, palms are always located within sites of general interest. The botanic gardens are right in the hearth of the cities, no day-off is needed, no palm-wives need to be tied on the beach while the manny man goes to see flowers!

Carlo

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My intro to Sicily's recent history was Peter Robb's "Midnight in Sicily", which came back to me while watching "La meglio gioventù" (Best of youth).  

I don't know what portion of Sicily's population emigrated to the United States, but it can't exceed the third of Norway's population that came here.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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I did not tried the book and the movie. Millions of people left Sicily to Northern Italy, Switzerland, Germany, United States, Argentina and Australia. Many more people emigrated than stayed. It had been for years the most "emigrating" region of the world, a real factory of humans to populate the empty globe. The peak was in 1913, when 146.061 people left the unlivable island. It is a story of vertical decisions, continuos corruption, neverending quietness and non-development, that just had some relief after the wars, when "the owners" needed people to rebuild things. In recent decades, people are still leaving the island, at about 5.000-10.000/year but this time it is the most educated skilled youngs.

Carlo

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The book came across as deeply informed (and quite critical of the US government).  Robb mentioned that agricultural workers tended to spend the winter in bed, almost hibernating, because they had so little food.  This seems to have historically been the fate of Europe's peasants.  During the 1920s, when poor residents of the southeastern US suffered a disease called pellagra from eating nothing but maize, the disease seems to have been widespread in parts of Italy and the balkans as well.  

Poverty has many causes.  The United States has merely had extraordinary resources, reasonably good government, and considerable good luck.  

The movie, actually a 6-hour TV series is remarkable.  I suspect that students learning Italian should watch the whole thing.

Fla. climate center: 100-119 days>85 F
USDA 1990 hardiness zone 9B
Current USDA hardiness zone 10a
4 km inland from Indian River; 27º N (equivalent to Brisbane)

Central Orlando's urban heat island may be warmer than us

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