Vieste

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Sun setting on medieval town of Vieste perched on cliff ridge.

Matt Munro

Overview

Like a young belle who’s beautiful without even realising it, the town of Vieste clings modestly to a spectacular promontory on the Gargano Promontory. It resembles nothing so much as a cross between Naples and Dubrovnik, with a bit of Puglian magic mixed in. The narrow alleys of the old town, draped with lines of drying clothes and patrolled by slinking cats and the odd friendly dog, are atmospheric day or night, high or off-season. Wedged up against the old town is the equally unpretentious new town, ghostly in winter, but packed with holidaying humanity in summer, especially during the passeggiata (evening stroll).

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Cathedral

Vieste

Built by the Normans on the ruins of a Vesta temple, this 11th-century 'co-cathedral' (so called because its bishopric is shared with another) is in…
La Salata

Vieste

This palaeo-Christian graveyard dating from the 4th to 6th centuries AD is 9km out of town. Inside the cave, tier upon tier of narrow tombs are cut into…
Museo Malacologico

Vieste

This esoteric shell museum has four rooms of fossils and molluscs, some enormous and all beautifully patterned and coloured. Note the seasonal opening…
Chianca Amara

Vieste

Vieste's most gruesome sight is this worn and polished stone where thousands were beheaded when Turks sacked Vieste in the 16th century.