In Aspromonte for Demetra, the oldest oak tree in Europe

Did you know that one of the oldest trees in the world, the thousand-year-old Demetra oak, is found in Calabria?

It has its roots in a magical place, in the centre of the Aspromonte National Park, in the province of Reggio Calabria.

Demetra, one of the oldest oaks together with its "sisters", represents one of the excellences of Aspromonte and Calabrian biodiversity. It is among the oldest trees in Europe, together with the Pino Loricato and two beech trees, which are found in the Pollino National Park.

Let's find out more about the uniqueness of the Demetra oak and the surrounding woodland. 

Its name recalls a figure from Greek mythology that has a close connection with nature, the cycle of the seasons and the underground: Demetra, a thousand-year-old oak in the heart of Aspromonte, is one of the most important monumental trees in the region.

Just over 6 metres tall, with a diameter that grows very little each year (less than a millimetre), the extraordinary Demetra oak makes people all over the world talk about itself and the precious forest that shelters it.

According to a study by the University of Tuscia published in the journal Ecology, the oak Demetra is among the world's longest-living trees, most of which are found in southern Italy. This longevity is due to the particular characteristics of the Mediterranean mountains.

What are the peculiarities that make the oak Demeter so unique?  

The researchers' analysis arrived at a date of around 935 years, which places the tree among the oldest temperate deciduous trees in the world. Demeter, an oak much older than its "neighbours" (around 570 years, the youngest), stands on a steep rocky slope, which is currently off-limits to visitors. It is no coincidence that its exact location is called Valle Infernale.

A curiosity that emerged from the study?

The inverse relationship between growth and longevity: the phenomenon, already known from other specimens, confirms that the older the tree, the less it grows, often presenting a smaller diameter than large monumental trees.

Although not accessible to hikers, the precious Demetra oak tree nevertheless invites us to discover the natural beauty to be found in its vicinity and, in any case, in the Aspromonte National Park.

It is they who know the best route to reach one of the most inaccessible points of the Aspromonte park: the legendary Faggeta Vetusta della Valle Infernale, which falls within the municipal territory of San Luca.

This is a forest that, in addition to the nearby oaks, includes a group of primordial beech trees that have resisted environmental and anthropic transformations for centuries, earning the important recognition as a UNESCO Calabria Site in 2021.

Immersed in a highly evocative ecosystem, the Valle Infernale preserves the life cycle of plants unchanged, from germination to natural death.

Another important example of biodiversity that can be observed in this portion of the park is the rare prehistoric fern Woodwardia Radicans. Its huge leaves can add up to a length of 3 metres, a typical specimen of tropical-mountain flora dating back some 70 million years.