Paradise Found, The Gargano
During 5 days of Puglia will be organized big 2 banquets in town of Vico del Gargano. Local foods, wine, music.....
From:
http://www.viedelgusto.net/eng/specials/paradise-found-the-gargano
It is hard to believe that this exotic-looking place, which shows off its marine bed through limpid and silken waters, is a promontory of the Adriatic Sea. A huge rocky outcrop, known as the “spur of Italy”, the Gargano juts from the northernmost part of Puglia towards the Balkans in a stunning display of verdant maquis set against a turquoise and blue backdrop. A place known for its tasty but simple cuisine (a mix of flavours, also of the sea and the earth), its light plays of morning silver and evening gold and the magic of its ancient towers, which still echo of long-ago Saracen incursions. The home of towns, such as Peschici, Lesina, Vieste and Mattinata, steeped in history and tradition, where the people are down to earth and open-hearted. The northern coast cradles the two salt lakes of Lesina and Varano, separated from the sea by a long strip of undulating sand dunes. Lake Lesina is famous for its eel-fishing tradition. The Gargano, an enigmatic feast of nature, art, history and food that stretches for more than 200km. The town of Lesina is known for the excellence of its fishery.
Superstar Citrus Fruits. A visit to the historic centre to admire the majestic cathedral and tall bell tower and the 13th century bishop’s palace is well worth it. A few kilometres away, we find Rodi Garganico, the citrus fruit capital of Gargano, and its “gardens”, as they call the fruit-growing lands that still today offer a unique farming landscape. Almost all the orchards are planted close to the family house, protected from the wind and salty sea air by dry walls or cane, holm oak or laurel windbreakers. Two romantic medieval inland towns, Ischitella and Vico del Gargano, complete the yellow-orange triangle. The latter’s Patron Saint is Saint Valentino and lovers meet in the street of romance to exchange vows of undying love. Other two villages of the “yellow-orange triangle” are Ischitella and Vico del Gargano, Hinterland romantic medieval village (called “of love”, due to its Patron Saint Valentine). The terrain’s fruits, districts of Slow Food, ripen all year long: blonde oranges in May, Limoncella in June and Durette at Christmas.
Postcards from Nature. The most beautiful scenes emerge between Peschici and Mattinata – the kingdom of free-growing orchids. The deep Bay of Zagara is guarded by two “faraglioni”, impressive rocky sentries that tower over the shore and the plunging cliffs. Further north, olive groves and citrus orchards suddenly change into the pine forests of Aleppo, opening a gateway into an enchanting world of grottos, hollows - which give the whole coastline an appearance of intricate lacework - and secluded beaches. We arrive at Vieste, the heart of the Gargano: a tangle of alleys and steps that connect the low white houses and culminate on the rocky point of San Francesco with its fortified monastery and castle of Norman-Swabian origins. Here we can admire the grandeur of the Pizzomunno faraglione of Castello beach. Gargano National Park is a protected area home to more than 2,200 botanical species and amazingly rich in fauna.
The Art of Nets. The old fishermen tell us the story of the “trabucco”, giant wooden fishing structures frozen onto the rocks long before the cities and abbeys started to rise along the coastline. The ingenious work of bygone fishermen, the trabucco frames mark one of the Gargano’s most ancient fishing traditions and, although still in use today, have been declared a cultural heritage of the Regione Puglia. Their appearance is still an intriguing interweave of wooden beams and ropes, as fragile and light to look at as they are flexible and resistant to sea storms.
A land that diffuses the smells and tastes of herbs and wild vegetables, such as mushrooms, asparagus, truffles, oregano, rosemary and rocket. Of homemade bread, fresh pasta – troccoli, orecchiette, grilled macaroni – and legumes. The sea brings in a harvest of mullet, dorado, sea bass, cuttlefish and mussels, not forgetting eels. All served with a light sprinkling of the area’s excellent olive oil. Cheese is the Gargano pride and joy, led by the head of the family, Caciocavallo and followed by fresh, hard and plaited scamorza, ricotta, Cacioricotta and bufala mozzarella.
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