Parco naturale regionale Isola di Sant'Andrea e litorale di Punta Pizzo

The regional park of Isola di Sant'Andrea and Punta Pizzo protects a limestone island and a stretch of coast west of Gallipoli. Established in 2006, it brings together rocky shore, dunes, Mediterranean scrub and wetlands, habitats that support distinctive plant and bird life beside a heavily visited coast.

Why it matters

The park safeguards habitats that have become increasingly rare along the Salento shore. Its territory includes the low limestone platform of Sant'Andrea Island and the dune-backed coast and wetlands of Punta Pizzo. The area joined the Natura 2000 network in 1999, before regional law established the park in 2006.

What to notice

On the island, salt-steppe vegetation includes salicornia and the endemic Statice japigica. The island is known for its colony of Audouin's gull, a Mediterranean species; the municipal account also notes possible nesting by the black-winged stilt. Punta Pizzo has a varied mosaic of maquis, garigue and damp hollows, with strawberry tree, lentisk, myrtle, tree heather, rosemary and thyme. Its botanical rarities include Anthyllis hermanniae, recorded as the only station on the Salento peninsula, and Anagyris foetida; the Li Foggi wetlands shelter Ipomoea sagittata. Dune invertebrates add another layer to the area's biodiversity.

Context and history

The park was established by Puglia's regional law no. 20 of 10 July 2006, with management entrusted to the Comune di Gallipoli. Its conservation role extends beyond the island and shoreline to landscape and hydrogeological protections that predate the park. The Audouin's gull colony has made Sant'Andrea an important site for Mediterranean seabird conservation, while the park's sustainable-tourism work received recognition under the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism. Together, the island, dunes, scrub and wetlands preserve a natural counterpoint to the urbanised coast around Gallipoli.