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Story of a Tree That Inspires Poets
#Exhibitions
Mary Callcott Graham, La quercia del Tasso | Courtesy © Musei Capitolini

La Quercia del Tasso (The Tasso Oak) is what remains of a monumental tree that stands on the Gianicolo Hill, in the Trastevere District. An exhibition tells the story of its legendary connection with the city, through centuries of history. The tree is inextricably linked to the figures of the writer Torquato Tasso, from whom it takes its name, and of Saint Philip Neri. In the 17th century, the friars of his order built an amphitheater in the adjacent natural cavea. The ancient tree has been a witness and a memory of Leopardi, Stendhal, Strutt and Rossini, underlining the interest of many intellectuals in the pleasant views of the Eternal City. In one of his humorous poems, the writer Achille Campanile immortalized a cute little animal that had made this ancient trunk its refuge.

Paolo Mastazza - © 2024 ARTE.it for Bvlgari Hotel Roma