🌳 Hundred Horse Chestnut Tree
Ancient giant on Mount Etna's volcanic slopes
📌 Fast Facts
- Circumference of 57.9 meters (190 ft) — Guinness World Record holder for greatest tree girth
- Estimated age: 2,000–4,000 years old
- Located on eastern slope of Mount Etna near Sant'Alfio, Sicily
- Protected heritage monument since 1982; earliest protection measures recorded in 1745
The Hundred Horse Chestnut (Castagno dei Cento Cavalli in Italian) is a legendary sweet chestnut tree of exceptional size and age located on Mount Etna's eastern slope in Sicily. It holds the Guinness World Record for the greatest tree girth ever recorded, with a documented circumference of 57.9 meters (190 ft) measured in 1780. Botanists estimate its age between 2,000 and 4,000 years, making it potentially one of Europe's oldest living trees and Italy's largest ...