Park Of Oaks

The Castro’s “Parco delle Querce” is a small, wooded area that is very interesting as it is one of the very few relics of holm oak (Quercus ilex) located along the Otranto-Leuca coastal strip.

It is a fenced holm oak wood used as a municipal park. In it there is a picturesque path, and the area is equipped for free time, with a playground for children too.

The environment has mesophilic characteristics, with the predominant holm oak accompanied by species such as laurel (Laurus nobilis), common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), terebinth (Pistacia terebinthus) and wild medlar (Mespilus germanica). The bush is dense and impenetrable with a shrubby undergrowth dominated by Common Ivy (Hedera helix) which hosts the Lesser Hellebore (Epipactis microphylla), a very rare orchidaceae.

Inside the wood, in a clearly visible position, there is also the Dolmen Sgarra I as evidence of an ancient presence in the area.