Double Tree in Piemonte Italy

A tree growing atop another tree, it’s not a sight that you get to see every day, but here you can know about a unique tree is growing in between Grana and Casorzo in Piemonte, Italy, recognized as the “double tree of Casorzo” or Bialbero de Casorzo in Italian.  This is a mulberry tree on top of which a cherry tree grows rises well above the mulberry tree on which it stands. The odd tree is also recognized as Grana Double Tree. No one exactly knows for the exact reasons how this is happened; perhaps various bird dropped a seed on top of the mulberry tree, which then grew roots through the hollow trunk of the host tree to reach the soil.

Though trees growing parasitically over another tree are not rare, but they usually do not reach the size and lifespan as seen in this specific example, as there is not adequate humus and space available where they grow. Large “double-trees”, also called Epiphytes, like the Bialbero de Casorzo is a rarity. Both trees combined together make for an inspiring sight, with their branches spreading 5 meters across. The double tree’s lifespan has been astonishingly long, given the detail that the cherry tree receives all its nourishment via the mulberry tree. Well, though not the only double-tree is probably the most impressive-looking trees in the world. Both trees are thriving from the same source of nutrients, and yet they are able to share very well.

Source: Charismatic Planet

Breathtaking Odle Dolomites Mountain Range of Italy

Dolomites Mountains are a magical place where days go by in peace, where you always view the brightness of the Pale Mountains. More than centuries a lot of words have been used to describe the beauty of these mountains, but of a thing I’m certain: the Dolomites Mountains are true natural heaven, a rich show of the environment with rocks, woods and pastures. 

It high in the Italian Alps, within the famous mountain range called the Dolomites, separating the Funes valley from the Gardena valley, sit the breathtaking Odle Mountains. Between all the mountains of the alpine chain, and the rest of the world, Dolomites are unique for their beauty and form. 

The breathtaking Dolomites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in August 2009, and have been called some of the most good-looking mountain landscapes found anywhere in the world with its sheer cliffs, vertical walls and deep valleys. One writer descriptively called the mountains, "flames frozen in stone."

Strolling on the Dolomites is an exclusive experience in and of itself, as you get a 360-degree view of rocks that have been transformed over thousands of years. There’re a number of different trails, from the easy, well-graded paths to the more challenging ones. They provide to hikers of all abilities. Here’re some remarkable shots of the Odle mountain group taken by various photographers. Notice that spectacularly sheer cliff.

Capri - Campania Region Italy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leonardo Da Vinci's Golden Horn Bridge

Italian Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci remains one of the most prominent artist, engineer, architect, scientist, naturalist and inventor from his or any other generation. Several of his concepts were hundreds of years ahead of their time, and Golden Horn Bridge is a just right example of that. In 1501, Leonardo da Vinci made a sketch of a 240-meters long single span bridge that was to be built over the Golden Horn a natural inlet of the Bosphorus Strait dividing the city of Constantinople, present day Istanbul. This was the first time hear, that such a long single span bridge was proposed. The construction techniques that would be required to build such a structure would not come into use for another three hundred years. As a result, the bridge could not be constructing because it was too advanced for the builders of that time. For 500 years, Leonardo’s elegant design remained an obscure, tiny drawing in a corner of one of Leonardo’s voluminous notebooks, until 1996 when contemporary Norwegian artist, Vebjørn Sand, saw the drawing at an exhibition of Leonardo’s engineering designs. Sand was impressed by it that upon returning to Oslo, he proposed that the Norwegian Public Roads undertake the construction of the project. For the next few years, Vebjorn Sand dedicated his time and endeavor to transforming the Leonardo Bridge Project from a delusion into reality. In 2001, a little pedestrian footbridge based on Leonardo’s original design was built near the town of Ås in Norway, on highway E-18 linking Oslo and Stockholm. Converting the fundamental design in reality was done by Architect Selberg. The pedestrian bridge is constructed on the similar model as Leonardo da Vinci's original drawings, but in its place of a colossal arch stone bridge, the one in Ås has three glulam beams which run in an arc across the road. On top of the Glulam beams one can walk or cycle on. The entire length of the bridge is 108 meters with main distance width of 40 meters, height 10 meters and clearance of 5 meters. According to the Leonardo Bridge Project’s website, the Turkish government has decided to construct a fully fledged bridge spanning the Golden Horn based Leonardo's design.

The Cursed Island of Gaiola Italy

Gaiola Island (Isola della Gaiola in Italian) is one of the tiny islands of Naples, Italy, situated in the Gulf of Naples in the heart of Gaiola Underwater Park, a protected region of about 42 hectares.This beautiful island consists of two stunning and serene islets situated on the southern border of Posillipo and very close to the coastline approximately 30 meters away. The island is easy to reach, whereas one of the islet has a solitary villa, the other is uninhabited. A little bridge connects the two islets, which are alienated by just a few meters. Moreover; the bridge is very tapered and looks like a natural arch connecting the two islets.

The island takes its name from the cavities that originating from the Latin cavea, "little cave", and then through the dialect "Caviola". Originally, the tiny island was famous as Euplea, protector of safe navigation, and was the site of a tiny temple dedicated to Venus.There are also numerous other ruins from the time of the Romans. In fact, below the islets in the water are several Roman structures that are now the home of marine creatures. A few think that the poet Virgil, regarded as a magician, taught here at the ruins. 

In the early 19th century, the island was mainly inhabited by a hermit famous as "The Wizard". Soon after, the island saw the construction of the villa that occupies it today and which was, at one time, owned by Norman Douglas, author of Land of the Siren. The island probably seems as a perfect post-retirement getaway, although the locals think the island to be cursed, a reputation that came about because of the incessant premature death of its owners. 

The series of bad luck happening sometime around the 1920s, when the Swiss owner named Hans Braun, was found murdered and wrapped in a rug. And after a short while his wife drowned in the sea.

The next owner was German Otto Grunback, who died of a heart attack while on the island.  A same fate befell the pharmaceutical industrialist Maurice-Yves Sandoz, who committed suicide in a mental hospital in Switzerland. Its subsequent owner, a German steel industrialist, Baron Karl Paul Langheim, was dragged to economic ruin by wild living. 

The island has also belonged to Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat, whose only son committed suicide. After his son's premature death Gianni had started grooming his nephew Umberto Agnelli to run Fiat, but Umberto also died of uncommon cancer at the young age of 33.  Therefore another owner, the multi-billionaire Paul Getty, after buying the island, had his grandson kidnapped. The island’s last owner Gianpasquale Grappone was jailed when his insurance company failed. Now days, the villa is uninhabited and abandoned.

Mount Etna Italy

Mount Etna is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. It lies above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is the tallest active volcano on the European continent, currently standing 10,922 ft high; however this varies with summit eruptions. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Mount Etna covers an area of 459 sq mi with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils support wide-ranging agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations. In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Immense lava flow from an eruption in 1928 led to the first destruction of a population center since the 1669 eruption. In the 1970s Mount Etna erupted smoke rings one of the first captured events of this type, which are extremely rare. This happened again in 2000.

Mount Etna is one of Sicily's foremost tourist attractions, with thousands of tourists every year. The most public route is through the road leading to Sapienza Refuge, lying at the south of the crater at elevation of 1910 m. It hosts a big parking, several bars, a hotel, and is a starting point for the cable car. From the Refuge, a cableway runs uphill to the elevation of 2500 m; from there, visitors can take a drive with special terrain vehicles, or take a long walk to the designated crater area at 2920 m. Ferrovia Circumetnea Round-Etna railway is a narrow-gauge railway constructed between 1889 and 1895. It runs around the volcano in a 110-km long semi-circle starting in Catania and ending in Riposto 28 km north of Catania. There are two ski resorts on Etna: one at the Sapienza Refuge, with a chairlift and three ski lifts, and a smaller one on the north, at Piano Provenzana, with three lifts and a chairlift.