In the garden behind Palazzo Garnier, Bordighera’s town hall, grows a large Moreton Bay fig listed in Italy’s register of monumental trees. It stands out for its size and for its crown, which spreads mostly horizontally with wide, striking branches.
It should not be confused with the Scibretta, the other great fig that welcomes those walking up to Bordighera Alta: this one grows in the palace garden.
A monumental tree of Italy
It is listed in the national register under number 03/A984/IM/07, on two criteria: age and/or size, and botanical rarity. The survey of 28 October 2015 measured:
- trunk girth at 1.30 m: 11.80 m
- height: 14 m
- estimated age: 122 years
A giant from Australia
Ficus macrophylla is native to Australia, where it can reach 50 metres in height. It has a short, massive trunk with light grey bark, rarely straight and often twisted. On the oldest specimens, aerial roots hang from the branches and, over the years, become columnar roots (supporting pseudo-trunks): they hold up the massive branches and the vast crown.
The leaves, on a long stalk, are ovate-elliptical, leathery and up to 20 centimetres long. The fruits are small round figs, up to 2 centimetres across, purple with lighter speckles.
August 2022: the fallen branches
In August 2022, very intense storms brought down some of the main limbs. The tree was promptly pruned to lighten it and rebalance the crown.
Why “scibrette”
In the Bordighera dialect, Moreton Bay figs are called “scibrette”. By folding the leaves the right way, the “paesenghi” boys (the dialect word for the people of the old town) made rudimentary whistles from them, the “scibretti”. It is the same story that gives the Scibretta its name.
Botanical profile
- Scientific name: Ficus macrophylla
- Common name: Moreton Bay fig
- Dialect name: scibretta (plural scibrette)
- Origin: Australia
- Estimated age: 122 years (survey of 28 October 2015)
- Girth at 1.30 m: 1,180 cm
- Height: 14 m
- Register number: 03/A984/IM/07
- Monumentality criteria: age and/or size, botanical rarity
How to see it
The tree is in the garden behind Palazzo Garnier, at Via XX Settembre 32, at the entrance to Bordighera Alta. The garden can be seen freely and for free. It is about 15 minutes on foot from the station, partly uphill. The tree is protected: anyone who damages or fells it risks an administrative fine of 5,000 to 100,000 euros (law of 14 January 2013, no. 10, art. 7).
Nearby
A few steps away are Palazzo Garnier, the Scibretta and the lanes of Bordighera Alta; downhill is the Capo pine wood. The other two monumental Moreton Bay figs of Bordighera grow at the Museo Bicknell. All are part of the Gardens and monumental trees itinerary.
