Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP OF CHAPTER
Promontorio del Gargano
The coast surrounding the promontory seems permanently bathed in a pink-hued, pearly
light, providing a painterly contrast to the sea, which softens from intense to powder blue
as the evening draws in. It's one of Italy's most beautiful areas, encompassing white lime-
stone cliffs, fairy-tale grottoes, sparkling sea, ancient forests, rare orchids and tangled, fra-
grant maquis. Once connected to what is now Dalmatia (in Croatia), the 'spur' of the Itali-
an boot has more in common with the land mass across the sea than with the rest of Italy.
Creeping urbanisation was halted in 1991 by the creation of the
Parco Nazionale del Gargano
.
Aside from its magnificent national park, the Gargano is home to pilgrimage sites and the
lovely seaside towns of Vieste and Peschici.
Along the coast you'll spot strange cat's-cradle wood-and-rope arrangements, unique to
the area. These are
trabucchi,
ancient fishing traps (possibly Phoenician in origin) from
which fishing folk cast their nets, 'walk the plank' and haul in their catch.
CAMPING IN STYLE
If your experience of camping is the scout version of flapping tents, freezing nights and eating cold baked beans
out of a tin, you will be delighted at the five-star quality of the typical campsites in this southern region of Italy.
They are also prolific, particularly in and around the national parks. In the Gargano region alone there are an as-
tonishing 100 campsites, compared to the relatively modest number of
pensioni
and hotels. If you don't fancy
sleeping under canvas (or need a plug for those heated rollers) then consider a bungalow rental.
Virtually all these camping
villaggios
(villages) include well-furnished and equipped bungalows. This means
you can really economise on eating out, as well as having the advantages of the campsite facilities, which often
include tennis courts, a swimming pool, a children's playground and small supermarket. Bungalows (normally
only available for week-long rentals) start from around €200/500 (low/high season) for a two-person bungalow or
mobile-home rental. Traditional under-canvas campers can expect to pay a daily rate of approximately €15/25
(winter/summer), which includes camping for two people, tent and car parking space.
Check the following websites for more information and camping listings:
www.camping.it
;
www.camping-
Vieste
POP 13,900
Vieste is an attractive whitewashed town jutting off the Gargano's easternmost promon-
tory into the Adriatic Sea. It's the Gargano capital and sits above the area's most spectacu-
lar beach, a gleaming wide strip backed by sheer white cliffs and overshadowed by the
