The gorgeous Vieste is located just a few kilometres from our village, and can easily be reached with our shuttle service.
Here, the blue sea and sky meet the white rows of fishermen houses flanking the lanes of this ancient city, characterized by its rich history and mythology.
The karst nature of its promontory has led to the formation of the town’s three bays, separated by the Punta di San Francesco, a harsh and steep rocky tip, where the medieval town is located, and by Punta Santa Croce, a lower and flatter tip, where the more recent inhabitations started being built during the nineteenth century.
Vieste surely owes its success as a tourist destination to its coast, but also to its history, which lives on in the town’s watchtowers, cathedrals, castles and “trabucchi”.
Dating back to the 1200s, the Vieste Cathedral is located in the higher part of the city and, despite maintaining its original Romanesque plant, the structure has undergone many changes over the course of the years, due to nefarious events such as plundering and earthquakes.
The church is home to the statue of Saint Mary of Merino, the patroness of the city; each year, the statue is exhibited to the faithful between April 30th and May 9th.
The castle is located just a few steps away from the Cathedral, on a slope overlooking the sea.
Dating back to the early thirteenth century, the structure is now a military headquarters, and can therefore only be visited during certain periods of the year. However, its external structure also has some very interesting features on show, not to mention the extraordinary view you can enjoy from the fortress walls!
This 25-meter tall monolith, the symbol of the city, can be found on the Scialara Beach and its singular nature has always been the subject of many myths.
The most popular story states that the monolith is the petrified body of a young Vieste inhabitant who refused to be seduced by the Sirens in order to stay loyal to his beloved Cristalda, who was in turn kidnapped by the creatures and hidden in the abyss forever.
Furthermore, it is said that if you make a wish while walking a full circle around the rock, it will certainly come true.