In 1931 the lowland forest behind the Ionian coast measured 1600 hectares. Today 680 are left, worn down by human activity and by drought. The Bosco Pantano is what survives of one of the most important plain forests in southern Italy, once split into two blocks known as Pantano soprano and Pantano sottano. The regional reserve that protects it came late, with regional law no. 28 of 8 September 1999: 500 hectares straddling the territories of Policoro and Rotondella, 21 of which form the WWF Policoro Herakleia oasis.
What to see
The landscape alternates between two registers. There is the marsh proper, still water and reed beds, and there is the wood, where black alder, ash, white poplar, Turkey oak and field maple grow, with laurel, hawthorn, crab apple and dogwood lower down. Closer to the sea the vegetation changes again: sea daffodil, rock samphire, sea spurge and sea rocket on the sand, then the scrub of mastic, myrtle, rosemary and prickly juniper. Liquorice, the Glycyrrhiza glabra the sticks are made from, grows wild here.
The marsh is a stopover for migrants: around 170 bird species have been recorded, among them the spoonbill, the curlew, the little egret and the great white egret, while the raptors include the marsh harrier, the red kite, the barn owl and the tawny owl. Kingfishers fish along the channels and the otter has been back for a few years. Over 2000 species live in the wood: beech marten, pine marten and badger among the mammals, the four-lined snake and the western whip snake among the reptiles, and the rare longhorn beetle Rosalia alpina, which is precisely why the area was designated a site of community importance and a special protection area. The beetles recorded here amount to 20% of all Italian species.
Visiting
The starting point is the oasis visitor centre, at piazza Siris 1 in Policoro, where the WWF also runs a wildlife rescue centre: it treats Caretta caretta turtles picked up at sea and land tortoises, and they are often the first thing you see. From there the paths run into the wood and out to the marsh. The Rotondella side is the one towards the mouth of the Sinni, which gives the protected site its full name, “Bosco Pantano di Policoro e Costa Ionica Foce Sinni”.
Our editors' tip
Look at the ground, not just up. Fallen trunks and rotting wood are not neglect: they are the home of Rosalia alpina and of most of the beetles that make this reserve a one-off in Italy. And before you leave, ask at the visitor centre where to look for wild liquorice: it grows on its own, without anyone ever having planted it, and it is one of the few plants in the wood you can identify from the smell of the root alone.