Book Now
The Tree with Roots Pointing to the Sky: The Mystery of Ischitella
The Legend of the Upside Down Tree
Have you ever seen a tree upside down, with roots instead of branches? It exists on Gargano. It is located in Ischitella, in front of the former Convent of San Francesco, in the square of the same name in the Gargano town. Once you reach the square, it is impossible not to notice it, and not only for its imposing size.
It is a gigantic cypress, completely devoid of leaves and almost petrified in appearance, with branches that look like roots. A true botanical oddity. Its age is uncertain, but it was certainly there in 1720, as attested by the graphic documentation regarding the convent.
Its history is shrouded in mystery linked to the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi. According to legend, the Saint, during his wandering, passed through Ischitella and prayed in a chapel expressing to the Lord the desire that his convent be built there. Then, in that land, he decided to plant his pilgrim's staff. After some time that staff began to sprout and transformed into a majestic tree, in front of which the prophesied convent was built.
The people of the village, amazed by that miracle, stopped there every day to admire that tree. All that devotion, however, aroused the jealousy of the devil who one night unleashed a violent storm to knock down the tree. The strong wind turned the tree upside down, but it continued to grow even though its roots were in the air and its branches were underground.
This story remains a legend, although there is a historical basis: it seems that in 1222 Saint Francis was in Puglia to visit Saint Michael the Archangel of Monte Sant'Angelo, to whom he was very devoted; it is therefore not excluded that the Saint also made a stop in Ischitella.
What is certain is that, despite the passing of the centuries and the onset of bad weather, the curious tree, although now dry, is still there, in front of the Church of San Francesco, with its roots always pointing towards the sky.
loading form _
It is a gigantic cypress, completely devoid of leaves and almost petrified in appearance, with branches that look like roots. A true botanical oddity. Its age is uncertain, but it was certainly there in 1720, as attested by the graphic documentation regarding the convent.
Its history is shrouded in mystery linked to the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi. According to legend, the Saint, during his wandering, passed through Ischitella and prayed in a chapel expressing to the Lord the desire that his convent be built there. Then, in that land, he decided to plant his pilgrim's staff. After some time that staff began to sprout and transformed into a majestic tree, in front of which the prophesied convent was built.
The people of the village, amazed by that miracle, stopped there every day to admire that tree. All that devotion, however, aroused the jealousy of the devil who one night unleashed a violent storm to knock down the tree. The strong wind turned the tree upside down, but it continued to grow even though its roots were in the air and its branches were underground.
This story remains a legend, although there is a historical basis: it seems that in 1222 Saint Francis was in Puglia to visit Saint Michael the Archangel of Monte Sant'Angelo, to whom he was very devoted; it is therefore not excluded that the Saint also made a stop in Ischitella.
What is certain is that, despite the passing of the centuries and the onset of bad weather, the curious tree, although now dry, is still there, in front of the Church of San Francesco, with its roots always pointing towards the sky.
loading form