Oak of the witches (Oak of Pinocchio)

The monumental tree is located in Gragnano and it is has incredible proportions. Its trunk measures over 4 m and reaches the height of 25 m. It is recognised as a monumental tree of Italy and it also appears on NATO maps as a military point of reference.

Two legends originated from its peculiar shape. The first one tells that the oak was the meeting point of witches, who danced and celebrated their rites on its top. The presence of the witches on the top of the oak had not allowed for the full growth of the branches, giving the tree its particular flat shape, with horizontal branches. For this reason the tree is usually called 'oak of the witches'.

The second one is linked to the famous novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. The oak would be then be the place where Pinocchio is hanged by the assassins who wanted to steal his gold coins. It is also the place where Pinocchio meets the Cat and the Fox, who later convince him to plant his coins in the Field of Miracles to grow a tree with gold coins. For this reason the tree is also called Oak of Pinocchio.

It is said that the author of  the novel, writing about the 'Land of Toys', was thinking about the Settembre Lucchese, a fair held in Lucca every Septmeber: the oak is infact the middle point of the road from Collodi to Lucca.