{"id":1617,"date":"2026-09-27T14:33:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/?post_type=luogo&p=1617"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T18:15:18","slug":"canary-island-pine","status":"publish","type":"luogo","link":"https:\/\/visitbordighera.com\/en\/places\/canary-island-pine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Canary Island pine"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the corner of Via Tumiati and the Via Romana<\/a>, above the villas and palms, rises a crown that is hard to miss: this is Bordighera\u2019s Canary Island pine, 40 metres tall. It was planted around 1830 in the Moreno Garden, the park that enchanted Claude Monet in 1884, and is considered the tallest Canary Island pine in Europe.<\/p>\n

Today it stands in the private garden of Villa Schiva, one of the last fragments of the Moreno Garden. You cannot go in, but there is no need: the tree can be seen perfectly well from the street, and you only have to look up to understand why it is listed in Italy\u2019s official register of monumental trees.<\/p>\n

A survivor of the Moreno Garden<\/h2>\n

In the 19th century much of the hill between the sea and the old town was taken up by the Moreno Garden, the estate of the family of Francesco Moreno, an olive oil merchant and French consul. Alongside the olives and citrus trees of Ligurian tradition grew palms and exotic plants from all over the world, including Canary Island pines. Travel guides of the time described it as one of the most splendid gardens in Europe.<\/p>\n

In 1884 Claude Monet, in Bordighera to paint the light of the Riviera, obtained permission to visit it and was spellbound: in his letters to Alice Hosched\u00e9 he called it \u201cpure magic\u201d. After Francesco Moreno\u2019s death the estate was divided into lots and cut through by the extension of the Via Romana. A few fragments survive: the Giardini Monet<\/a>, the park of Villa Mariani with Monet\u2019s olive trees<\/a> and the garden of Villa Schiva, where the pine has been growing for almost two centuries.<\/p>\n

A giant from the Atlantic islands<\/h2>\n

Pinus canariensis<\/em> is endemic to the western Canary Islands, where it forms forests on the slopes of the volcanoes, between 600 and 2,000 metres above sea level. It is the largest pine native to the Old World: in its natural habitat it often exceeds 30 metres.<\/p>\n

You can recognise it by its long, flexible needles, in bundles of three and up to 30 centimetres long, which hang from the tips of the branches and give the crown a soft, bright green look. The cones, glossy and chestnut-coloured, reach 15\u201320 centimetres. The bark is thick and, very unusually among conifers, the tree can resprout after a fire. It does, however, fear severe cold: it is Bordighera\u2019s mild climate that has allowed it to grow so large.<\/p>\n

Why it is monumental<\/h2>\n

The pine is listed in the register of monumental trees for its age and size. At 40 metres tall and with a trunk circumference of 390 centimetres it exceeds, according to the Liguria Region\u2019s record, the maximum sizes given in the botanical literature, about 30 metres and 300 centimetres. Recognised by the Region, it entered the national register with the ministerial decree of 4 November 2024, and is one of Bordighera\u2019s seven monumental trees.<\/p>\n

Botanical profile<\/h2>\n