The Bosco e Paludi di Rauccio regional nature park is a protected natural area in Apulia, established in 2002, covering 1593 hectares.
What to see
Eighteen hectares are occupied by a holm-oak wood, a remnant of the «forest of Lecce», the woodland that in the Middle Ages stretched between Lecce, the Adriatic coast, Otranto and Brindisi. Beside the holm-oak wood is a marshy zone, the specchia della Milogna, of about 90 hectares; then there are two coastal basins, the Idume and the Fetida, of about 4 hectares, small areas of Mediterranean maquis and garigue and a stretch of coast about 4 kilometres long. From such environmental variety comes a remarkable richness of vegetation: in the dense undergrowth of the holm-oak wood grow mastic, buckthorn, alaternus, myrtle, sarsaparilla and Mediterranean honeysuckle, and among the rare species are the marsh orchid and above all the greater periploca, an endangered species. The fauna is just as varied: in the pools of the clearings one can see amphibians such as the Italian newt, the green toad and the Italian tree frog, and the park is a stopover site for migratory birds. In the area there are also architectural landmarks: along the coast two watchtowers built since the Middle Ages against the Turks, Torre Rinalda and Torre Chianca, and inland the masseria Barone Vecchio, of the mid-sixteenth century, and the Rauccio masseria complex, of the seventeenth century, with the masseria, the dovecote tower and the chapel, of which few traces remain.
The Rauccio masseria, recently restored, houses the aquaterrarium and is the seat of the WWF, which carries out here the activities of protection and enhancement of the park.
Visiting
The park is at the gates of Lecce. The sources consulted give neither hours nor routes: these should be checked with the managing body or with the WWF, which has its seat in the Rauccio masseria.
Our editors' tip
Some huts are set up as observation points for admiring the fauna: according to the sources, in spring hoopoes and turtle doves stop there, and sometimes in winter a swan has been seen in the Idume basin.
