Foggia (Italy)

...south of the region to Foggia in the north, some of the olive groves give way to vineyards and then wheat fields - we are approaching Tavoliere, the plain round Foggia; the biggest wheat-producing area in Italy which makes Puglia a true land of bread and pasta as well as olive oil.

Foggia is the capital of Capitanata province and constitutes a major transport hub and a convenient launching point for Gargano. Gargano which is the spur ...
...the way back to Foggia and then again after my date mishap (see Grand Hotel Tiziano review) which resulted in having another day in Lovely Lecce!

For the rest of the our stay we camp near Mattinata, a town descending down a hillside above a coastal plain which stretches for 2 miles below and on which most of the holiday accommodation is located amongst the olive and lemon groves. Its white-washed buildings, winding streets and interconnecting ... more

Puglia or Apulia as the English would have it constitutes more or less the heel of the Italian boot.

We only had two weeks and had to travel with a lot of gear (camping) by public transport so we were not terribly efficient. We experienced what I feel was only a small sample of Puglia's delights and this review describes the Gargano promontory, where we spent the second week of our holiday. The first week spent in the southern part of the region is described in a review entitled "Sampling Salento" under Puglia. The next two paragraphs are repeated from that review as they apply to the whole trip.

Now please allow me to include a bit of history – this is because I knew nothing about it and I found it mightily annoying to see references to periods and peoples who were obviously everyday bread and butter to the locals but meant nothing to me. Once I found an outline things became much more clear and thus I am including one here for the benefit of a thorough but not knowing reader. Others are very welcome to skip straight to the next section.

***OPTIONAL: HISTORY SUMMARY***

Puglia was inhabited in the third millennium BC by the people from Illyria and Epirus (now Greece), tribes who were divided into Daunii in the north of Puglia, Messapi in the South and Peucetti in the middle. The Ionian Sea coast, with its centre of Taranto was part of the Magna Graecia while later on the region became incorporated into Rome with Via Appia actually finishing its course in Brindisi. It was an important outpost of the Eastern Empire and was a subject of fighting between Rome and Byzantium. Normans were brought into Puglia to help draw out the Byzantines and in the end of the Xth century occupied the whole region for themselves. The Swabian dynasty succeeded the Normans in the XIIth century and the rule of the grandest of them - Frederick II - brought justice and prosperity to the land. After Swabians, Angevine dynasty from France and the House of Aragon from Spain ruled Puglia. It was part of The Kingdom of Naples and apparently unhappy under the Spanish rule. Things got bit better under the Bourbons, and in the XIXth century Puglia became the part of the unified Italy. Nowadays Puglia is more prosperous than other southern regions of Italy and seems to be successfully utilising its agricultural and tourist potential to redress the long history of neglect and deprivation.

***HIGH ABOVE THE EMERALD SEA***

As the EuroCity train speeds from Lecce in the south of the region to Foggia in the north, some of the olive groves give way to vineyards and then wheat fields - we are approaching Tavoliere, the plain round Foggia; the biggest wheat-producing area in Italy which makes Puglia a true land of bread and pasta as well as olive oil.

Foggia is the capital of Capitanata province and constitutes a major transport hub and a convenient launching point for Gargano. Gargano which is the spur on Italy's boot probably warrants about a month of exploration and during our five days there we were only able to touch its beauty and history. The beaches of coastal towns and villages, originally devoted to fishing, now serve large numbers of tourists while the rocky interior, raises above them to over 1000 meters almost straight up from the sea. The interior is home to the Umbra Forest, a reserve of plant and animal life; as well as to sacred shrines of Gargano to which Christian pilgrims have flocked for well over thousand years.

The first night in Gargano passes safely though boringly in a hotel in Manfredonia, a biggish town and a good centre for exploring the southern part of Gargano. In fact, Manfredonia is worth a look or two itself, with its rather grand castle, a couple of interesting Romanesque churches and a seafront shipyard where construction of wooden fishing boats can be observed from scratch.

We leave Manfredonia next day heading on towards a reasonably priced campsite I managed to locate (in Italian and on the phone!) the day before. While waiting for the bus we meet the first British tourists since leaving Lecce, a Scottish couple who apparently have been to Puglia before and who are heading towards the sandy beaches of Vieste at the tip of the promontory. Amazingly, we are to meet them again on the bus on the way back to Foggia and then again after my date mishap (see Grand Hotel Tiziano review) which resulted in having another day in Lovely Lecce!

For the rest of the our stay we camp near Mattinata, a town descending down a hillside above a coastal plain which stretches for 2 miles below and on which most of the holiday accommodation is located amongst the olive and lemon groves. Its white-washed buildings, winding streets and interconnecting steps with the emerald sea glistening between the houses exude your typical Mediterranean charm. Small local museum shows some Daunii artefacts but sadly all description is in Italian so we are left guessing. Local people are friendly and the place is not overrun by tourists as most of them are located down near the sea rather than in town. So was our campsite - a good 40 minutes hike up to the town if no lift was available.

The beach was very near the campsite though, partially cultivated with parasols and loungers, but partially left alone, with stones ranging from large pebbles to small boulders. In the late afternoon, with the orange sun low and the sea taking on dreamy, unreal, purplish hues I lay on a straw mat on the stones, close my eyes and listen to the sound of waves rolling the stones; incessant, tireless, continuously coming in and out, crushing, turning them into sand.

The beach is good for adult swimming as the bottom drops pretty quickly but swimming shoes are almost necessary as the size of the stones renders walking on these an agony. There are parts with tiny stones, more like rough sand, more suitable for children's playing. One of them is near the small Mattinata port which is also the place to hire water craft as well as to board a boat trip to surrounding bays (daily at 8:30) but as we have no money, encounter difficulty with getting ourselves to the port for 8:30 and are not sure how well Katie would react to the movement of what is essentially a large speedboat, we decide to see at least some of the coast from high up rather than sea level and take a walk along the coastal road one bus-less Sunday.

We have a vague idea of either catching a lift to a beautiful Baia delle Zagaro 15 km away or just 'having a look at the next bay'. The walking soon becomes strangely addictive; we are now better adapted to the heat and quite tanned, with Katie happily asleep in the carrier on DH's back, and so we walk on. The coast is cream, craggy limestone rock, sheer cliffs falling into the shimmering, glistening, wondrous sea and more inland steep terraces covered with olive and almond trees.

Passing cars and motorbikes greet us with hoots, waves and smiles and we do indeed walk to the next bay, and then a bit more to stop for a spot of lunch and a bottle of cool rosé in a small trattoria perched on edge of the cliff. It is advertising its 'pane - pomedoro' (bread and tomatoes) with a big 'HALT' painted in red letters on the rocky side of the road and the large slice of bread drenched in olive oil and covered in tomatoes, basil, olives and capers is indeed the best starter you could imagine in this situation. Pasta with clams and courgette flowers seems perfect and the rosé goes gently into our heads and legs. We sit outside, under a canopy of vine leaves, with a view down to the sea and cannot stop wondering why the proprietors don't charge a massive premium for the location.

We descend back to Mattinata port and our campsite on legs jellied with wine and tiredness but remarkably little sunburn except for a patch on my head (under the hair!). As we approach the port, we notice a garden to the side of the road surrounding what seems to be a farmhouse. There is a small lemon tree not too far from the fence, heaving with roundish fruit, the archetypal image of Italy. We stop by the wall supporting the wire fencing for a sip of water and the swap of the child-carrier when an old man walks down the garden towards us. We exchange the usual "bella" "Inglese" "Polacco" and then, presumably having noticed our previous fascination with the tree, he goes back to it, picks two ripe lemons and hands them to us above the fence. I brought one of those lemons back and it sat in the fridge for a week before I peeled its zest and now it perfumes a jar of sugar, its smell and still vivid yellow reminding me of Gargano magic.

***WHERE THE ANGEL TREAD***

Even if you are not at all interested in religious history or architecture, the trip Monte Sant'Angelo from the sea level is worth every cent of the 1.30 euro bus fare five times over. If you attempt it by car, be very, very careful as the road bends in literally breathtaking hair-pin serpentines, climbing up over 800 meters in less than 15 miles. The views of the coastal plain, the sea and the hills carved painstakingly in a succession of narrow terraces are awesome. from time to time the road bends inches away from a ravine.

Monte Sant'Angelo is the most ancient and originally the most important of the Gargano's shrines, boasting an apparition by Archangel Michael in the Vth century. Apparently the basilica of St Michael is the only church in Christendom not consecrated by human hands as the angel claims to have done it himself. Regardless of your attitude to angelic or otherwise apparitions, the shrine is well worth a visit. The town has grown around it and is an interesting sight itself, roosted on the hilltop and with more breathtaking views. The medieval Junno quarter, steeply descending into a ravine is almost painfully pretty, with all the requisite lanes and passages, steps and courtyards. Black birds circling above complete the picture which is almost unreal, like something coming from a dream or a film-makers fantasy or a book.

The main attraction is, of course, the basilica of Saint Michael, the shrine to the Archangel. It includes several parts added in different years of its one and half millennia of history. The tour starts in what is called the upper atrium - a surprisingly modest courtyard enclosed by walls, bell-tower and the entrance to the shrine proper. In the hall behind the entrance portals, the staircase leading to the mystical grotto begins. The staircase was constructed in the XIIIth century and descends down 86 steps, illuminated by small windows and decorated by frescoes, statues and carvings.

Walking down those steps is indeed a good way to prepare oneself for the experience of the cave, of crossing from the realm of the profane to the sacred, from human to divine. Saint Michele can be said to be doubly suited to the shrine-purpose, its location both on a hilltop like ancient Greek's temples connecting it to the gods of the sky and in a cave inside the bowels of the earth to commune with perhaps even older powers of the nether regions.

The underground church is a fusion of medieval stone-work (so called Angevin nave) and a natural cave, with its irregular rocky vault hanging quite low above our heads. The cave is dominated by the Archangel's statue of white Cararra marble, encased in an urn made of silver and crystal glass. The angel is depicted as a young man, a boy almost, with golden wings, dressed in the armour of a Roman legionary, a Prince of Heavens with a raised sword, trampling on the monstrous Satan with his foot. The cave itself is surprisingly effective in creating an atmosphere of spiritual concentration, tangible even to such a sceptic as your reviewer. I am not sure if it is the power of angelic presence of perhaps the fact that the stones surrounding me have been impregnated by human faith for fifteen hundred years.

The town has several other monuments worth seeing but we had only two hours so after a quick peek at the ruined castle we skip the Tomb of Rotary and manage to catch a bus back to Mattinata just in time.

***AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALMOST ENDS (OR SO WE BELIEVE AT THE TIME)***

Two days later we are sitting at the pavement cafe in Mattinata, waiting for the bus to take us to Foggia, EuroCity train, Brindisi airport and ultimately English rain; we are drinking coffee and maintaining a semblance of child-based chat with a middle aged waitress who claims to have five (children) - I cannot quite work out if it is 4 boys and 1 girl or the other way round when the sounds of accordion and trumpet can be heard, playing gypsy music, music from the slums of between-the-wars Warsaw and from Slovak taverns.

Two men appear, neither of them looking particularly gypsy and DH walks towards them with a coin and a chat. They look like students and are from Romania. "Yes. We are all strangers here" the trumpeter says in educated man's English while being waved away by the Italian waitress with five kids. They walk away and only when disappeared from sight the music starts again, more poignant and more meaningful now.

***TIPS AND TECHNICALITIES***

*About three days is really a minimum to experience anything in Gargano.

*There is already a few reviews devoted exclusively to the practical aspects of the experience (hotel, flight, camping in Italy with a child). We flew to Brindisi by Ryanair and stayed in hotels as well as camped and we ate out as well as at the campsite. Please see there for details if you are interested.

*Ryanair fly also to Bari and this is better option for just Gargano, as the flight is in the morning rather than afternoon and significantly closer to Gargano.

*Italian long-distance trains (FS) are good quality, reliable and fairly expensive (less than 300 km journey cost about 25 euro one way).

*Gargano is served well by two bus companies (Ferrovie del Gargano and SITA). The service is reliable, cheap and reasonably frequent on weekdays, but almost non-existent on Sundays.

*The best ice-cream and very good pastries in Mattinata can be had in Gelateria-Pattiseria on Corso Matino opposite the mobile-telephone shop. Almond ice-cream was exquisite!

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