Witches’ Oak
A fascinating and mysterious place, where one breathes nature, history, fairy tales and legends
What to know
The Witches' Tree: A Journey into the Heart of Mystery
While you are walking along a path that winds through the woods in the countryside around Capannori, suddenly a silent colossus stands out in front of you, majestic and full of mystery. This is the Witches’ Tree, a monumental oak that, with its trunk more than four metres in circumference and a height of twenty-five metres, leaves every traveller speechless.
This green giant, which is about 600 years old, harbours secrets and legends rooted in popular memory and its particular conformity.
The witches' Sabbath
The first legend involving it probably stems from the peculiarity of its foliage, with branches running parallel to the ground. In fact, it is said that the tree was the stage for mysterious nocturnal gatherings. At night, on its branches the witches of the area would meet to hold their sabbaths and dances. Hence the characteristic ‘squashed’ shape, with the branches growing horizontally. Hence the evocative name ‘Witches’ Tree’.
The Adventures of Pinocchio
This is said to be the ‘Great Oak’ where, in the fifteenth chapter, Pinocchio is hanged by the Cat and the Fox, disguised as assassins, intent on making the puppet spit out the four gold ticks hidden in his mouth. The tree is therefore also known as ‘Pinocchio’s Oak’, a fairytale place that enchants the imagination of visitors. Whether you are a fan of legends and reading, a nature lover or simply a curious traveller, the Witches’ Tree is well worth a stop. It will bewitch you with its evocative atmosphere and the secrets it whispers between its leaves as you admire the play of light filtering through the gnarled branches.
-
quercia-strege
-
trekking percorso
-
sentiei-percorso
-
percorso viaggio
-
marcia delle ville percorso
-
museo
-
via-francigena
A few more curiosities
Trees, like people, have their own stories to tell. Stories of life, struggle and rebirth. The Quercia delle Streghe (Witches’ Oak), an imposing guardian of the Capannori territory, is a striking example.
During the dark night of the Second World War, the tree came face to face with human cruelty. The Nazi occupiers, seeing in it a precious source of firewood, ordered its felling. But the people of San Martino in Colle did not stand for it. With courage and determination they opposed this destruction, managing to protect their beloved oak.
In the following years, the life of the Witches’ Oak was not without obstacles. Lightning struck it in the mid-1960s, leaving it with deep wounds. Yet the tree did not give up, it continued to grow and soar imposingly into the sky.
