The stazzi of Jacci di Verre and the “Twisted beeches”

An hour’s walk from the locality of Ceppo, between meadows, streams and beautiful beech and fir woods, there is a very special small wooded area. We are at the stazzi of Jacci di Verre and here we can find the famous “ Beeches ”.

These are hundreds of curved beech trees, both young and old, which have the same characteristic: they have all been “deformed” by the slow and invisible force of the ground below. In reality there are several theories as to why these beech trees have this particular conformation, some argue that the curvature of the stems is due to the force exerted by the weight of the snow on the branches, others think that it is due to the force of the wind. Surely both of these phenomena have an impact, even if only in a slight way, but the responsibility for this phenomenon is attributable to the “Soil Creeping” also known as “ Reptazione ”. It is an imperceptible movement of the ground that affects the direction of the stems at a very slow and constant speed (it is fractions of millimeters per year). This phenomenon, too slow to be observed directly, mainly affects the wettest soils and slopes with slight inclinations and its effects can only be seen years and years after its inception thanks to the curved tree trunks.

In the locality of Jacci di Verre we can find several groups of twisted beech trees, some of which are of remarkable beauty, which make this place one of the most interesting in the Laga area in terms of natural beauty … to be seen absolutely!