Where is
What it is and where it is
In the heart of Salento, near Tricase, a terrible storm caught Frederick II of Swabia, the Stupor Mundi, on his return journey from the Crusades. And he found shelter - with all his soldiers - under the canopy of a huge oak tree. That's why even today, 8 centuries later, they call it the "Oak of the 100 Knights." Or so the legend goes.
Why it is special
The Vallonea Oak is the most beloved tree in Puglia. Its numbers arouse wonder: almost 1,000 years old, 20 meters tall, a trunk so large that it takes as many as 3 men to embrace it, a dense foliage that covers an area of 700 square meters. A symbol of Salento, this queen of oaks was honored in the "Tree of the Year 2020" competition launched by the Giant Trees Foundation and has been nominated to become a UNESCO national heritage site.
Not to be missed
The oak has many elderly and gigantic sisters: in Tricase there is a specimen about 400 years old, with a trunk over 3 meters in circumference and a crown reaching 20 m in diameter. Remaining in Salento, in Cocumola there is an approximately 400-year-old specimen in the garden of the baronial palace. In Corigliano d'Otranto here is another, with a canopy of 20 meters and a height of about 15 meters. And another greets us in front of the little church of the Crucifix on Via Emile Namer in Taurisano. A last, though minor, one is found along the road from Gallipoli to Alezio.
A bit of history
In the past the vallonea oak had a very specific function in local manufacturing activities: the powder extracted from its acorns was in fact used in the tanning of hides, as it contained good amounts of tannin.
Curiosities
The walloon oak(Quercus ithaburensis macrolepis) is a species found in the eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Greek islands and Asia Minor. It is speculated to have been imported by Basilian monks who came to Salento from Vallonia, a city in Dalmatia. In Italy it is present in the natural state only in the Tricase area.
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