What is Mattinata known for?

Twin limestone sea stacks Arco di Diomede and Le Forbici, the icon of the eastern Gargano coast, named for the orange blossom of the bay. Benedictine ruins at 850 meters on the highest plateau of the eastern Gargano, founded around 1000, abandoned in the fifteenth century. Protected area covering the Gargano peninsula, the limestone headland that juts east into the Adriatic from the Foggia plain.

Mattinata is a comune in the province of Foggia, Apulia region of Italy, about 64 kilometers from Foggia.

Apulia · Foggia

Mattinata

The only Apulian town that faces south on the Adriatic, the white amphitheater of the eastern Gargano with the Zagare sea stacks below.

64 km / 40 mi

Nearest hub (Foggia)

5,976

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Mattinata sits at seventy-five meters on the eastern Gargano, the only town in Puglia that looks south onto the Adriatic. The Iapyges, immigrants from Greece and the Balkans, settled the surrounding hills from the fifth century BC; the Roman port of Matinum, on the modern seafront, gave the town its name. The current settlement is younger than most Garganic centers: it was administered as part of Monte Sant'Angelo until 1955, when it became an independent comune. Above the town, Monte Sacrocarries the ruins of the Abbazia della Santissima Trinità, founded around the year 1000 by Benedictine monks, raised to abbey status in 1138 and abandoned in the fifteenth century after being annexed to the abbey of Siponto. The coastline south of town is the most photographed in northern Puglia: Baia delle Zagare, named for the orange and lemon blossom, holds the limestone faraglioni Arco di Diomede and Le Forbici, with Baia di Vignanotica's pebble crescent and dramatic cliffs ten kilometers further south. The Parco Nazionale del Gargano covers all of it.

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Gallery

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Known for

Baia delle Zagare
Bay south of town with two iconic limestone sea stacks, the arch-shaped Arco di Diomede and the scissor-shaped Le Forbici.
Baia di Vignanotica
Pebble crescent under tall limestone cliffs, reached on foot from the Sentiero dell'Amore from Baia dei Mergoli.
Monte Sacro and Abbazia della Santissima Trinità
Ruined Benedictine abbey at 850 meters on the highest plateau of the eastern Gargano, founded around 1000, abandoned in the fifteenth century.
Parco Nazionale del Gargano
National park covering the eastern Gargano headland, with limestone karst, beech forest above 800 meters and protected orchid populations.
Centro storico
White-amphitheater old town opening south to the Adriatic, only independent from Monte Sant'Angelo since 1955.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season Mattinata runs at full strength. The Adriatic water at Vignanotica and Baia delle Zagare is swimmable from late May, the Monte Sacro trail is at its best when the orchids flower in May and June, and the coastal cliffs catch a long evening light through the summer. July and August push past thirty degrees and fill the beaches; the boat shuttle to the faraglioni is the easier access. April and October are the in-between months: empty beaches, mild weather, olive harvest in November. November through March is quiet. Many seaside places close, the Monte Sacro trail gets windy and the Adriatic side of the Gargano takes the winter storms.