Zagarolo…..a visit to Palestrina & onwards to Puglia (Vieste)
Categories France/Italy/France 2022..... another Mega RoadtripOctober 15th
A lovely morning with temperatures forecast to be in the mid-’20s. Today we are staying in the vicinity of Zagarolo with a visit to Palestrina which is situated about a 39-minute drive. Back in the day, it was a summer resort area for Roman nobles with the likes of Horace, Pliny, and even Hadrian maintaining villas there. In the Middle Ages, it sided with the wrong parties and was razed several times. From the parking lot, we head up a series of staircases arriving in the rather sleepy-looking Old Town…
The Duomo was built over a Temple to Jupiter in the 5th century and it had the same shape as the Temple until the XIIth century when it was enlarged. In the pictures below you can the columns of the present-day structure are those of the previous temple. As well, the area under the floor of the church has been excavated showing that the space under the altar and the crypt was built into what was once a street between the Temple and other facilities of the Forum.
The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia was built in the 2nd century BC to honor the goddess Isis and the goddess Fortuna. The massive site spans a mountainside, built with Roman cement or pozzolana, and remains a rare example of an intact pagan temple complex and a nice view of present-day Palestrina.
We then visited the Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Palestrina, the primary purpose being to see a grotto in the natural rock where there was a spring, which was developed into a well and a shrine with a colored mosaic pavement representing a seascape: a temple of Poseidon on the shore, with fish of all kinds swimming in the sea >>> Ivano had told us we could spill a bottle of water to see the mosaics come alive…BUMMER, unfortunately, it was closed for renovations until the end of November….the pic below is from the internet:
The museum was quite interesting with some stunning mosaics ….the effort put in by Italian authorities to preserve these treasures is evident everywhere we go, even if sometimes it takes away from our experience. Click on images to enlarge:
Afterward, we headed up to the Castel San Pietro Romano, for a short walkabout and lunch at a family restaurant that Ivano had recommended….it was Sunday, and as is often the case we were the first ones there. At least an occasion to sport my new haircut courtesy of an Italo-Chinese hairdresser in Tivoli > the works for 10 euros! No worries, all of a sudden muli-generational families rolled in and the silence was replaced with the sounds of Italians having a fun meal. A very decent meal at a price that is hard to imagine at home; the bill below shows a 1/2 liter of wine for 2 euros, no, not an error. A nice way to finish this part of our journey.
October 16th-18th
Another gorgeous morning as we tuck into a good breakfast, and load up the car. We are heading for the south of Italy into an area less visited called Puglia. Our destination is the town of Vieste a little over 400 km and 5 hours away.
A pretty good drive some on the Autostrada (tolls) and the rest on secondary and tertiary highways. There was a stretch near the shore which was rather boring but also so much garbage. South of Rome garbage bags are often strewn along the highways, under bridges, and the like… not quite SE Asia but not far off. At one point we take a wrong exit and find ourselves on a brand new access road leading to a massive new Amazon Fulfillment Center, although we were not fulfilled:
The drive though gets very pretty when we enter the Parco Nazionale del Gargano which of course has the requisite hairpin curve roads but also the vistas are there aplenty. Lunch is on the road and we arrive in Vieste around 14:30. As usual a bit of sorting out to find the meeting place, once we find the Piazza Cittadella near the AIRBNB, a call and our host arrives posthaste. The car, of course, is in a no-park zone, but we have the drill-down pat now: grab the luggage, put the 4-way hazards on, and head for the apartment. After a briefing in the apartment, Michaela calls her “friend” > the parking lady and I drive the car to the “parking lot”, Eugenia’s house and a small paved area…no worries we pay her 5 euros per day and depart, the car safe and sound in her hands.
We are here for 3 nights and the game plan is very simple: enjoy this rather pleasant and low-key town and take it easy. It is rather quiet as the season is closing out but during summer it is a beehive of activity > beaches, water sports, forests, etc. mostly for Italian tourists. Our AIRBNB in the below pic is on a small piazza facing the ocean and with a nice view up the coast …really nice!
The Cathedral of Vieste is located a stone’s throw from the apartment and dates back to the second half of the 11th century. It represents one of the oldest Romanesque churches in Puglia and is found in perfect harmony with the church bell tower rebuilt in Baroque style after a collapse in 1772.
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The bay of Marina Piccola was for many centuries the small port of the town, just outside the walls, with the boats lying on the sand but ready to be taken, in case of a storm, to shelter within the city walls. The white-washed houses and marble streets glisten in the sunset off by the azure-colored sea…
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Walking along the waterfront we can see the beautiful peninsula of Punta San Francesco and the small Church of San Pietro d’Alcantara, dating back to 1438…
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In Vieste, there are some of the most beautiful beaches of Gargano and also Puglia. The coast of Gargano is a succession of wonderful coves and sandy beaches, overhanging limestone rocks and stacks, dunes, and Mediterranean scrub. On another morning we set off on a walk to the south end of town to see the “Pizzomunno” an imposing limestone monolith 25 meters high (which we can from our balcony in the distance). It is located at the beginning of the very nice sand beach south of the town, called “del Castello”, and, no, we did not make use of the exercise machines…
There are quite a few cafes and beach clubs facing the sea but at this time of the year, most have been shut down for the season.
Vieste is one of several towns which has a Trabucco, these are fishing machines built entirely of wood, which made it possible to fish from the mainland instead of going offshore, especially in the stormiest months of the year. In essence, it is a platform anchored to the rock by large logs of Aleppo pine, jutting out into the sea with mechanisms to lower nets into the sea. Only a few nowadays are used by fishers. The rest serve to emphasize the heritage of the area.
Michaela, our host, gave us a recommendation for dinner which worked out really well, as we enjoyed a nice meal at La Teresena …
Tomorrow is another road day as we head deeper into Puglia…