The oak is planted in the centre of what is now the village square of Kato Pyrgos. At the time, the village is small, closely tied to the land and sea of the Tylliria region. The planting marks a deliberate act of care for a shared public space — a gesture toward shade, continuity, and communal life. From the beginning, the tree is positioned not at the margins, but at the heart of the village.

As the oak establishes itself, Kato Pyrgos grows around it as an agricultural and fishing community overlooking Morphou Bay. The tree’s broadening canopy begins to shape daily rhythms: offering shelter from heat, marking the centre of the square, and quietly observing the patterns of work, trade, and social life. Its presence becomes familiar and reliable — a young but already significant landmark.

Through mid-century decades of social and political change, the oak matures alongside the people of Kato Pyrgos. It shades village gatherings, festivals, informal meetings, and moments of rest. Generations come to know it not as an object, but as part of the community itself — a constant in a changing world. During this period, the tree’s identity becomes inseparable from the identity of the village square.

As Cyprus undergoes wider transformations, the oak remains rooted in place. Its massive trunk and expansive crown come to embody endurance and continuity. Stories, memories, and everyday encounters accumulate around it. The tree is increasingly referred to in local language as a point of reference — a marker of place, time, and belonging within Kato Pyrgos and the wider Tylliria region.

By the early 21st century, the oak is widely recognised as a defining natural monument of Kato Pyrgos. It appears in village descriptions, heritage references, and informal tourism materials as the “adornment and pride” of the community. Its botanical identity as a Mediterranean gall oak — a species historically tied to writing, dyes, and knowledge — adds depth to its cultural significance as a living participant in human exchange.

The oak’s role as a cultural and natural landmark becomes more formalised. Visitors are guided to it; residents point it out with pride. It is understood not only as an old tree, but as a shared inheritance — a living structure that has shaped social life, provided comfort, and held space for collective experience across more than a century.

The Kato Pyrgos Oak is selected as the first Highly Sensitive Tree in Cyprus, marking a new chapter in its long history. Situated within one of the country’s early climate-neutral pilot communities, the tree becomes an ambassador for sustainability, resilience, and intergenerational care. Through sensing, listening, and dialogue, it extends its historical role into the present — continuing, in a new form, its centuries-old function as an interface between people, place, and the future.