They called him Mont Blanc of the trees, But he was also known as “Avez del Prinzep”: it was a huge white abbot 5.8 meters of circumference at the base and 52.15 meters high, the highest in Europe. It was found in the woods of Lavarone, in Trentino.
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He had resisted for 264 years, bringing them grace, until In a unfortunate November night a strong wind was unable to break down. He ran the year 2017. Truth the “Mont Bianco” He had been suffering for some time: Years before some boys caught a fire nearby and a spark affected the cortex, producing a laceration that weakened it considerably.
Instead of breaking down to make it wood as burning, it was decided to allocate it to a more noble use: obtain wonderful musical instruments from its wood.
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The transformation took time: several years of seasoning, and the intervention of the master luthier Gianmaria Stelzer, so that the wood was ready to become cello, two violins and a purple. The first concert that ridens voice to the Avez del Prinzep took place at the foot of his stem in 2023, and still today the soul quartetunder the direction of Maestro Giovanni Costantini, continues to play his precious tools.
The story of this tree is told in Book “Il Canto del Principe” by Marco Albino Ferrariwho guides us in the heart of the woods to reveal his past and his extraordinary rebirth.
We just have to listen to the prince’s song!
Sources: Civic Museum Foundation of Rovereto/Soul Quartetto
