History of Gargano: from Paleolithic to the present day

The history of the Gargano has very ancient origins. In fact, the presence of man in the north of Puglia dates back to 40,000 years ago and each historical passage has somehow made this land increasingly rich in culture.

At the beginning of the history of the Gargano

Studies have shown that the history of the Gargano was born right in the Paleolithic. We have to think that, due to its conformation full of caves and protected from the sea, this region has always been a strategic refuge. As evidence of the presence of man, the most ancient cave paintings in all of Italy have been found in the “Pagliacci cave”. Towards the Neolithic instead, people began to move to the area of Manfredonia where the “entrenched villages” were born. At the time, the spur of Italy became a nerve center of trade, especially with Greece. The testimony of the Daunian Neolithic is visible to all by visiting the suggestive Daunian necropolis along the trekking route on Mount Saraceno.

Dark period

The Daunian people were replaced first by the Greek colonization and then by the Roman one. With the advent of the Greek-Gothic war Christianity found margin for settlement which from then on will become a crucial characteristic of the Gargano. In fact, the Middle Ages was a central period from a religious point of view, especially for those towns that were on the route that would later be named Via Sacra Longobardorum. The traces of the medieval rock villages are still clearly visible in the historic centers of Peschici, Vico del Gargano and Monte Sant’Angelo.

The history of the Gargano up to the present day

Southern Italy was then conquered by the Normans who led it through a period of spiritual and economic rebirth. Churches, palaces and castles flourished, many of which are still visible today, to name a few we mention:

• Santa Maria and San Leonardo di Siponto
• The cathedrals of Vieste
• The Abbey of Santa Maria di Tremiti
• The church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Monte Sant’Angelo.

The Angevin-Aragonese period started a process of socio-economic development of ruralization, which has kept industrialization at a distance until today. This period was abruptly interrupted by the settlement of the Turks around 1550. The numerous defense towers built along the Gargano coast date back to the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic, some of which are still visible today. With the Bourbons and precisely with Federico II they returned to large estates and transhumance. Today the Gargano is a nerve center for the Apulian economy, above all for the tourist experience it has to offer.