Once you decide to visit the Gargano you can not stop in Mattinata, a very white village that stands halfway up a large valley in the heart of the Gargano National Park, where the olive trees and the blue sea are the dominant note.
The center of Mattinata is characterized by small stone houses that have kept the structural characteristics of the past almost intact, from the arches of the doors to the chimneys.
Small streets climb between small groups of houses, set on two hills: "Castelluccio" and "Coppa della Madonna".
The country with a mainly agricultural economy until a few decades ago, is now specializing in tourism and, on the streets of the village, many public places and shops open, mainly of local crafts and gastronomy.
Morning for tourists means sea life.
On the north coast, which goes from Mattinata to Vieste, it is made up of high white walls, carved by suggestive caves and by deep bays divided by headlands crowned by watchtowers.
The Bay of Olives, the Bay of Aranci, the Bay of Mattinatella, the Bay of Zagare and that of Vignanotica are the very well-equipped beaches that host modern tourist villages and cheerful campsites.
The landscape is typically Mediterranean, with huge expanses of olive groves, interspersed here and there with almond trees, prickly pears and apricot trees.
The territory is rich in evidence that, from the first Paleolithic settlements, such as the Prince's Cup and Grotte Scurzilli, the Necropolis of Monte Saraceno in whose rock 500 tombs covered with stone slabs are hollowed out, the known "steles", topped by heads, shields and fouls, according to the entity and importance of the deceased.
