Gargano National Park. Discovering the secret Gargano.
Gargano National Park. The secret Gargano and its forgotten jewels.
We started at the Torre (tower) Mileto near San Nicandro moving to the Abbazia (abbey) di Santa Maria (of the holy mary of) di Monte D’Elio continuing to the ruins of the seaplane airport of the First Worldwar on the Varano-sea with the curch – chiesa di Santa Barbara and ending with the masseria fortificata (fortified farmhouse of) di Forquet.
A tour of one day with specialized guides of Gargano Natour but some site you can visit without accompanyment.
We go through different historic epochs, the towers of the sixteenth century, the middle-age churches, the exhibits of the First Worldwar in the twenteenth century and the farmhouses of the seventeenth century.
The National park of the Gargano guards inside the most emblematic jewels out of all historic epochs. Apulia- country of crossroads and dominations- offers a vacation with not only sea and sun.
Torre Mileto and Varano-Lake
The watchtowers exist along the whole coast of Apulia, from the Gargano to the Salento. In Gargano we find about ten watchtowers which served to signalize the arrival of turkish pirats, thanks to a system of segnalations with fire from one tower, one castel to another tower, for example in Peschici we find the Torre (tower of) di Monte Pucci, the castle of Peschici, la Torre (tower of) di Calalunga, la Torre (tower of) di Sfinale.


L’abbey of Santa Maria (Holy Mary of) di Monte (mountain) D’Elio
One of the most attractive examples of the roman-apulian style, abandonned and forgotten on the hills of the National Park of the Gargano.
The curch of Santa Maria di Monte D’Elio was the main church of Devia, because in the middle age the city of Devia arises. Of the antique center, born as a slowanian colony, today we can see the ruins of private houses and traces of the fortifications realized by the byzantines in the XI century.
In the Middle Age the importance of religious pilgrimages to the sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo (the archangel of the Holy Michael) created the construction of churches, convents, abbies, hospices, which gave accomodation to the pilgrims on their way to the sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo.

The seaplane airport and the church of Santa Barbara(holy Barbara). The fortified farmhouse of Forquet
Near the Varano-Lake we find a seaplane airport used during the First Worldwar and the church of the Holy Barbara, always in the first period of the ‘900 and not far away the Masseria (farmhouse) Forquet.



Conclusions
Some useful links:
https://www.facebook.com/GarganoNatour/?fref=ts
Escursione alla chiesa di S. Maria di Monte D’Elio a San Nicandro Garganico
https://www.facebook.com/pg/garganoeventi/videos/?ref=page_internal