From an Italian sketchbook 🌳🌿
I have always loved the shape of Italian trees in Da Vinci’s paintings.
Believed to be supernatural by early tribesman, the evergreen Tuscan cypress tree can live for up to 2,000 years and was planted around burial grounds.
The fragrant scent of the resin was thought to ward off evil spirits and ensure safe passage to the after-life. The wood was perfect for crafting coffins and shrines.
According to the Bible, Noah’s ark was made from cypress wood, as was the very cross on which Jesus was crucified.
Noel Murphy 
Are those cypress trees or parasol pines?
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I was told, by the people who lived there, that they were Cypress trees. They also gave me the complete history of this special tree, all the way back to the crucifixion and other myths.🌿
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