Regional Nature Park Palude e Bosco di Rauccio - Sorgenti Idume

The Park of Rauccio is the last example of the large groups of forests and marshes, which in the past stretched along the coast between Brindisi and Lecce.

The landscape is characterised by ponds on the back dunes, where appears the short Idume river. The forest, instead, consists of a thick and tangled holm oak forest and of a lush understory where there is the pistacia lentiscus, the myrtle and the lonicera implexa.

There are four different itineraries inside the park, disclosing the lush vegetation: from the Botanical to the Faunal one, from the Hydrological to the Cultural –Historical one. In the clearings, there are marshes where several amphibians, such as the Italian newts, the emerald green toad and the Italian tree frog live, while here and there appear the rare wild orchids.

The name Specchia della Milogna refers to the presence of the badger, which excavates its burrow at the feet of the holm oaks, while in the wetland many water birds eat, among them the swan, who embellishes the Idume river.