- Art & Culture
- Active & Green
The Mulberry Tree of Cassano d'Adda
The history that distinguishes the white mulberry of Cassano d'Adda is long, as is that of the place that hosts it.
The territories lapped by the Adda river have been a place rich in history for more than a millennium, where man has been able to transform the landscape to coexist with the waters, which for centuries have also been a border line.
One of the most significant points on the river banks is Cassano d'Adda. Here the Muzza is derived, which was built in 1220 and is one of the oldest artificial canals in the world. Right above this water derivation stands the imposing Cassano Castle, which dominates the surrounding landscape. Built in several phases, between the 9th and 15th centuries, it presents itself today with a Gothic style due to the influence of the Sforza and Visconti families. To further enrich a place so steeped in history there is an incredible green monument: the fascinating white mulberry (Morus alba) which has lived in the Castle square since the end of the 1600s.
Silent witness for three centuries to the events of the village of Cassano d'Adda, the monumental "muron" (as it is called in the local dialect) is one of the few survivors of the over 4500 mulberry trees once present; they were so numerous to guarantee the foliage necessary to feed the silkworms of the large silk factory attached to the castle.
The tree has a trunk with a circumference of more than 5 meters (diameter 160 cm) and a height of 15 metres. Located at the side of the square, it appears, with its shapes, like a living work of art. This corner of the Province of Milan is truly worth a visit, not only for the waterways, the village and the castle, but also for the imposing Villa d'Adda Borromeo, an eighteenth-century palace with a surface area of 5000 square metres.
Green monument that can be freely visited.
