This tree (Calocedrus o Libocedrus Decurrens), like about 70% of the plants of Villa Barbarigo Pizzoni Ardeamni, is an original plant of the garden of Valsanzibio and was planted in the area of the Rabbit Island around 1665. This specimen is considered the oldest of its species present today in Europe and was taken from the northern part of California arriving in Valsanzibio after a long journey by sailing boat. The voyage took over five months (during which time the tree had to be maintained alive with the use of precious fresh water!) along the America’s coasts of the Pacific Ocean until the Strait of Magellan, across the Atlantic Ocean until the harbors of Spain or Portugal, then, once bought by the Barbarigo, until the Gibraltar Strait, across the Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea until Venice, to finally reach Valsanzibio along the Brenta Riviera, the Battaglia Channel and trough the Valley of Saint Eusebio’s (Valsanzibio) marsh land. Since this California Cedar was already a plant of 20/30 years old when it left America, the overall age of this colossal is estimated to be between 370 and 380 years old.
