The monumental beech at Campo San Giovanni in Summonte has lost a large part of its canopy after the collapse of its main branch. Local press reports now say Italy's Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, MASAF, contacted the relevant authorities on 5 October 2026 and formally urged the Parco Regionale del Partenio to issue the authorizations within its remit, including the VIncA.

The reported safety works had been delayed pending that authorization from the park authority.

A 200-year-old beech in the Partenio park

The tree is recorded by the Campania Region as the Faggio di Campo San Giovanni in Summonte. The regional record identifies the species as Fagus sylvatica and lists an altitude of 1,020 metres, a trunk circumference of 525 centimetres, a height of 10 metres and an estimated age of 200 years.

The tree stands at Campo San Giovanni in the municipality of Summonte, within the natural area of the Parco Regionale del Partenio. Corriere dell'Irpinia reports that the park authority acts as manager of the ZSC-Dorsale dei Monti del Partenio in this context.

Local press reports describe serious phytosanitary problems. According to those reports, the collapse of the main branch caused the loss of much of the canopy.

What the ministry reportedly requested

According to IrpiniaNews and Corriere dell'Irpinia, MASAF urged and diffided the Parco Regionale del Partenio to proceed with the authorizations within its remit for the safety works.

The reports describe the safety and recovery intervention as part of an inter-institutional agreement involving the park authority. The works are reported as delayed pending a VIncA or related authorization from the park.

The original MASAF note and the approved technical project were not directly available in the research for this article, so the exact wording of the request has not been verified from a primary document.

What remains unclear

Several points are not confirmed by the available sources:

  • Whether the Parco Regionale del Partenio has since issued the VIncA or another authorization.
  • When the safety works will begin, their final design, and their funding and implementation status.
  • Reports of administrative delay reflect accounts attributed in local press coverage; they have not been independently established here.

Readers following the case should look for a subsequent communication from MASAF, the municipality of Summonte or the Parco Regionale del Partenio confirming authorization and a timetable for the works.