Mr Piccioni's tree, Remarkable tree in Ascoli Piceno, Italy.

Mr Piccioni's tree is an Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) standing about 3 km from Ascoli Piceno along the Via Salaria toward Rome. Its trunk measures 8.7 m in circumference, a regional record for the Marche, and rises 24 m with a large crown; the trunk is hollow inside.

The plane is first documented in 1718 as "Albero di Picciò" in papers on the paving of the Via Salaria, where it is called "l'albero del Signor Piccione Parisani"; the name recurs in road-works records of 1731 and 1749. Other sources trace the tree to around the year 1000, citing a March 1109 deed in which Ranieri del fu Ferrone sold his sister Benedetta land "in locum qui dicitur ipsum platanum".

The name Piccioni comes from local tradition, which links the plane to Giovanni Piccioni, commander of the papal auxiliaries who led anti-unification brigandage after 1849. Legend says he hid in the hollow trunk to ambush travellers on the Via Salaria. In fact he was a prior of Rocca di Montecalvo, arrested in 1863 at San Benedetto del Tronto station and sentenced to life of hard labour; he died in Forte Malatesta prison in Ascoli Piceno.

The site is easily reached on foot from the town center and can be visited as part of a leisurely walk through the area. The best time to visit is from spring through autumn when the tree is fully leafed out and provides ample shade.

The tree carries the name of a former owner, a detail that reveals it was once on private land before becoming a public natural monument. This personal history sets it apart from other natural landmarks in the region.