Three days to discover the monumental trees, a cultural and touristic heritage: meetings, naturalistic urban trekking and guided tours. From the 1st to 3rd of June, the first edition of Real Verde (Royal Green): it is the prelude to the definitive opening of the Royal Gardens of the Royal Palace, inserted in the visitors’ itinerary. Among the guests, the poet and writer Tiziano Fratus who coined the concept of Homo radix. Three days to discover the monumental trees, a cultural and tourist heritage: encounters, urban naturalistic trekking, guided tours and an absolute protagonist, the gigantic Ficus Macrophylla embracing a pine tree. The Federico II Foundation starts a process of development and use of the Royal Gardens. The President Gianfranco Miccichè and the General Manager Patrizia Monterosso are convinced that one of the objectives to pursue is to enhance, in addition to monumental heritage, the “monuments of nature”, first of all the giant ficus macrophylla that embraces a pine and lives in the company of rare plants . There is going to be the Bergamo-born poet and writer transplanted in Piedmont, Tiziano Fratus, who coined the concept of Homo Radix.
The event is organized by the ARS (Sicilian Regional Assembly), the Federico II Foundation and Legambiente with a perspective more and more focused on the constant attention to the themes of sustainable tourism, with the precious inter-institutional collaboration of the Simua (University Museum System) of the University of Palermo and specific reference to the Botanical Garden. Experts, scholars and institutions are therefore participating to Real Verde (Royal Green), a real focus on the monuments of nature: tree tourism is a rapidly expanding segment in Italy and abroad. In Sicily the monuments of nature are estimated at more than 600, an enormity compared to other regions. The island is however behind from the legislative point of view for the cataloging of these trees. The Federico II Foundation opens to the city with an urban naturalistic trek that, starting from the Fossa della Garofala and passing through the Ficus that embraces the Pine of the Royal Palace, winds through the discovery of the most fascinating monuments of nature in Palermo.
The epicenter of Real Verde is in the Royal Gardens but a test of museum-botanical network of the city starts immediately: all those who on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd of June will show the ticket of the Monumental Complex of the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel to the Botanical Gardens ticket office will be entitled to a reduction. Friday, June 1st at 6 p.m. a meeting on “The Monuments of Nature: an extraordinary cultural and natural heritage” is scheduled, with an exceptional guest: the poet and writer Tiziano Fratus, author of several books on trees that defines himself as “finder of trees “. There are also going to be Gianfranco Miccichè, president of the ARS, Patrizia Monterosso, General Manager of the Federico II Foundation, Paolo Inglese, director of the Museum System of the University of Palermo, Gianfranco Zanna, president of Legambiente Sicilia, Rosario Schicchi, director of the Botanical Gardens of the University of Palermo, Giuseppe Barbera, professor of Tree Cultivation at the University of Palermo. 
Saturday, June 2nd at 9 a.m. it is time for urban nature trekking with Professor Rosario Schicchi, director of the Botanical Gardens of Palermo, who is going to illustrate the monumental plants along the journey: departure from the Fossa della Garofala (appointment in front of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Food and Forestali, Ed. 4, Viale delle Scienze); we are going to proceed to the Royal Gardens of the Royal Palace, the Sycamore of via Merlo, Ficus of Villa Garibaldi, Goethe’s Sycamores of Villa Giulia, Botanical Gardens. The Royal Gardens of the Royal palace are a green lung in the heart of Palermo’s UNESCO quadrilateral, ready to show their beauties to visitors from all over the world (more than half a million per year in constant increase annually visit the Monumental Complex). A garden that is going to be enjoyed as a museum. Plants and trees as paintings thanks to the presence of rare and exclusive plants. Each “work” has its caption, just like in an art exhibition. Note for visitors: In the three days of Real Verde (Royal Green), in addition to the gardens, the Palatine Chapel and the “Sicilië, Pittura Fiamminga” (Sicilië, Flemish painting”) exhibition, are going to remain open from 8.15a.m. to 9p.m. (last admission at 8p.m.). Moreover, on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd of June, a free guided tour of the Royal Gardens will be held by Manlio Speciale, curator of the Botanical Gardens.
Courtesy translation Elettra La Duca