Perhaps few people know this, but on the hills located between Monte Pisano and Collodi, in the middle of a forest, stands an extraordinary tree, both for its size and for the legends that surround it: it is known as the Witches’ Oak, the tree that inspired Pinocchio.
The Oak
It has impressive proportions: 24 meters tall, its trunk has a diameter of 4.5 meters (you need at least five people to embrace it) and has a canopy that reaches 40 meters in diameter (a national record for oaks), but it’s not clear which precise botanical species it belongs to.
Classified as genus Quercus, many believe it’s a pedunculate oak, except that the cups of its acorns are identical to those of the turkey oak, from which it differs in leaves and bark; it’s probably a hybrid.
It’s recognized as a monumental tree of Italy and, due to its size, even appears on NATO maps as a military trigonometric point.
Its age is a mystery: it’s hypothesized to be around 600 years old.
It’s located in the municipality of Capannori, in the Gragnano area (which is why it’s called the Great Oak of Gragnano), and to reach it you need to follow a route that winds through a forest. Many tourists and hikers occasionally pass by and stop to admire this wonderful tree and take some souvenir photos.
During World War II, the Nazis wanted to cut it down to obtain a large quantity of firewood, but fortunately, thanks to the mobilization of local residents, the project fell through.
Two Legends for one Tree, Let’s Start with the Witches
There are two legends that distinguish it.
First, the one from which it takes its name: it’s a popular belief that this tree was once a meeting point for witches who, during the night, would writhe on its long and gnarled branches to perform sabbatical rites.
Their continuous presence on the canopy would have prevented its vertical development, so that, over time, it has taken on this anomalous flattened shape with branches that have extended in a horizontal direction, almost parallel to the ground; a truly unusual fact for this type of plant.
Does the Character of Pinocchio Perhaps Exist Thanks to this Oak?
The other legend, more fascinating but also more plausible, is linked to the name of a famous character from the world of fairy tales: we’re talking about Pinocchio, the popular wooden puppet created by Carlo Collodi a couple of centuries ago.
It’s said that the Florentine author was inspired by this majestic tree for the final scene of the 15th chapter, when the wooden puppet is hanged on the “Great Oak”, by the Cat and the Fox disguised as bandits, who devise this stratagem so that Pinocchio would spit out the four gold coins he had hidden in his mouth.
“No sooner said than done, they tied his hands behind his shoulders and, passing a slip knot around his throat, hung him dangling from the branch of a large plant called the Great Oak” (excerpt from the 15th chapter of The Adventures of Pinocchio)
Not everyone knows this, but initially, this scene was meant to represent, in Collodi’s mind, the conclusion of the novel.
Later, however, following protests from many readers who found it too macabre, he added new chapters and, as we all know, also thanks to the remake of the film by Matteo Garrone released a few months ago, the ending has a happy epilogue.
The “Great Oak” mentioned in the story would be, according to legend, precisely the monumental tree of Capannori. This is why it’s also called the “Pinocchio Oak”.
This is not impossible given that the author used to spend his vacations in these parts, as his mother was a native of Collodi (whose name inspired the pseudonym with which he became famous, his real name was Carlo Lorenzini), a village just a few kilometers from Capannori.
The Lucchese September and the “Land of Toys”
It’s also believed that, in his mind, the Land of Toys was the representation of the Lucchese September, a period when the city of Lucca comes alive with fairs and numerous activities.
If this were the case, everything would make sense, as the tree is located right along the route that connects Collodi to the walled city.
So what are you waiting for? If you find yourself in those parts, take the opportunity to retrace the steps of the famous wooden puppet and see the Witches’ Oak (or Pinocchio’s if you prefer), you certainly won’t be disappointed. Walking around it, observing the changes in perspective and the play of light offered by the interweaving of its numerous and varied branches, is a decidedly exhilarating experience.
For a moment, at the foot of its imposing and majestic canopy, you’ll feel as if immersed in a fairy tale from another time.
Maybe the Four Gold Coins are Hidden Right Here
If you’re not fully satisfied, you could go look for the town of Acchiappacitrulli and the Field of Miracles, where Pinocchio buried the four gold coins on the advice of the Cat and the Fox whom he met again “two steps from the Great Oak”.
No one has yet identified these places but, as the Fox told Pinocchio, they are located not far from there, “just two kilometers away”.
Article by Marco Montanari
Cover photo by: Guglielmo Giambartolomei
