In the Municipality of Saint Alfio, in the province of Catania, grows a chestnut tree which botanists estimate is between 2000 and 4000 years old. It is considered the oldest tree in Europe and the oldest in Italy.

Its longevity is still a mystery.

Its size is so impressive that it has been the focus of studies by major naturalists and the object of famous painter’s works.

In 1965, the chestnut was expropriated and declared a national monument. At the end of the XXth century, some local authorities launched a series of studies to protect and preserve the chestnut. Also, it was has been requested to become part of UNESCO’s patrimony.

Of course it couldn’t miss out on such a legend as this!

It is said that Queen Joan I of Aragon, travelling from Spain to Naples, stopped in Sicily and came to visit Mount Etna on horseback, accompanied by the nobility of Catania. As a storm came, she took refuge under this tree, which, due to the thickness of the leafage, was enough to shelter the queen and all her knights from the rain, hence the name "Tree of the Hundred Horses".

This is the preferred version of the legend!

According to others, which link the legend to the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers, believe that it originates from the reign of Queen Joanna I of Anjou. The Queen, since the storm lasted till the evening, passed under the fronds of the chestnut tree at night in the company of one or more lovers some of which the knights of her entourage.

But all this is most likely the result of popular imagination and hence unlikely to be true since the Queen Joanna of Anjou, although known for some debauchery in love affairs, has almost certainly never set foot in Sicily.