Vieste

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Vieste
coat of arms
Vieste (Italy)
Vieste
Country Italy
region Apulia
province Foggia  (FG)
Coordinates 41 ° 53 '  N , 16 ° 10'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 53 '0 "  N , 16 ° 10' 0"  E
height 43  m slm
surface 167 km²
Residents 13,859 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density 83 inhabitants / km²
Post Code 71019
prefix 0884
ISTAT number 071060
Popular name Viestani
Patron saint Santa Maria di Merino, San Giorgio
Website Vieste
Vieste
Vieste

Vieste is a municipality on the Italian Adriatic coast . It is located in the Apulia region and belongs to the Foggia province . The small town with just under 14,000 inhabitants was a fishing village and is now heavily influenced by tourism .

geography

Vieste can be found on the map at the " spur " of the "Italian boot". The town, which is located on a rocky promontory on the extreme eastern edge of the Gargano , consists of an old town center located on the rocky spire of San Francesco, which is typically medieval and a modern part, which extends along the coastline between the beaches of San Lorenzo in the northwest and developed Castello in the south.

The erosion has severely reshaped the limestone on the surrounding coast. Unconventionally shaped rocks, grottos and arches can be seen in different places.

The next larger city is the provincial capital Foggia , 99 km away.

history

The remains of a defensive wall and an attached hut from a Bronze Age settlement were discovered on a small hill near the Molinella fraction that belongs to Vieste , about three kilometers outside the city . A fragment of Mycenaean pottery from the Late Helladic II B that was found in the hut dates it to the 15th century BC. Not far from the settlement were graves, including the remains of a rock chamber grave , from the middle to late Italian Bronze Age.

A first settlement in the area of ​​today's Vieste took place in the period between the 10th and the 6th century BC; The origin of its name is uncertain, some derive from the presence of a temple dedicated to Vesta , others from the name Apeneste , which it is said to have had in Roman times.

There must have been some looting by the Turkish corsairs in the 16th and 17th centuries, the most tragic of which was that of 1554, when 7,000 residents were abducted and hundreds were beheaded on a rock that can still be seen in the city center today. Evidence of this bloody period are the various watchtowers scattered along the coast and the castello on the top of the town, which was built by Frederick II in 1240 and then rebuilt with a wall enclosure in the 15th century because of the danger posed by the Turks.

Attractions

In the old City
  • In addition to historical objects, numerous artefacts from the pre-Roman times are kept in the Museo Civico. Underneath are fragments of a stele with an epigraphic inscription carved with Messapic letters, which is described as "the most outstanding linguistic document of ancient Daunia".
  • cathedral
  • Fort
  • Pizzomunno, limestone cliffs
  • Grottos
  • Old town
  • Church of St. Maria Merino
  • La Salata, early Christian burial places
  • Sfinalicchio, graffiti from around 10,000 to 9,000 BC Chr.

tourism

Vieste is a suitable place for windsurfers . Due to the exposed location, there is a wind suitable for surfing and sailing almost every day. There are several surf schools and sandy beaches. There are many campsites in the region.

The market that takes place every second Monday is well known. Between October and June, the local economy of the tourist location largely stagnates.

Web links

Commons : Vieste  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
  2. ↑ To summarize the Bronze Age finds of Molinella: Marco Bettelli, Italia meridionale e mondo miceneo. Ricerche su dinamiche di acculturazione e aspetti archeologici, con particolare riferimento ai versanti adriatico e ionico della penisola italiana. Florence 2002, p. 20 (with further literature).
  3. ^ Marina Mazzei, Anna Maria Tunzi Sisto: Gargano antico. Testimonianze archeologiche dalla preistoria al tardoantico , C. Grenzi, 2005, p. 25; “Il Gargano preistorico: Riparo sottoroccia di Sfinalicchio” , website of the Parco nazionale del Gargano, February 27, 2015.