No more palm trees in front of Milan Cathedral: alpine vegetation is coming

As announced a few days ago by Mayor Beppe Sala, Zegna becomes the official partner of the Municipality of Milan for the redesign and care of the flowerbeds in Piazza Duomo for the next three years. Just as the palm trees, which had sparked much debate, were beginning to grow, and citizens had become accustomed to their presence, the concession for the flowerbeds had expired. In place of the palm trees, with Zegna, some species characteristic of the vegetation of the Biella Alps will be introduced.

The project envisioned for Milan takes inspiration from the 1957 painting by Dino Buzzati, “Piazza del Duomo di Milano”, and aims to emphasize the fundamental role of nature in the heart of the city. The Zegna Group has collaborated with a group of botanical and landscape professionals to bring to Milan some elements characteristic of the vegetation of Oasi Zegna in Bielmonte, in the province of Biella, Italy. This oasis is a model of social and environmental awareness created in the late twenties by Ermenegildo Zegna as a reforestation project, with the planting of over 500,000 conifers and the creation of a connecting road between the two sides of the mountain.

The flowerbeds will feature a permanent base composed of four groves of different-aged Camphor bushes. There will also be plants subject to rotation: rhododendrons from autumn to late spring and Philadelphus from the end of the rhododendron flowering period. The plants will then be replanted at Oasi Zegna at the end of their cycle. The new flowerbed at the Cathedral will be officially presented to the city during the 2024 Design Week and will be the first step in a project that envisions the creation worldwide of new Zegna Oases, a model of social and environmental awareness.

Cover image by Jonas Allert on Unsplash.