To be entirely honest, this wasn’t our favorite destination in the Gargano. To be fair, we arrived on a rather humid day and after a very long drive along the coast (nearly 3 hours), and we were a bit disappointed by how sleepy the town was. That said, the drive itself yielded spectacular views not only of the coastline but of the amazing olive terraces. The contrast to the gentle rolling hills in the northern part of the Gargano was striking; the work of harvesting olives on such an incline must be utterly back-breaking. As you approach the town from the north, vast swaths of shimmering green olive groves languish down toward the beaches. The town itself is another jumble of white and pink stone and the area is clearly a source of economic profitability with its vast groves.

Its earliest settlers were tribes of Eastern European origin, mainly from Greece and the Balkans, which populated the surrounding lands from the 5th century BC. It is evident just in looking at those one passes on the street that they look distinctly different from even those we encountered in the north of the region. The name of the town itself can be traced back to the Roman village of Matinum, which was located by the current sea port in the first century AD. Small traces of the Roman settlement can still be found. Monte Sant'Angelo, administered the town until 1954, year of its independence as commune. But, in spite of that relatively recent date, the town has been populated by diverse groups throughout the centuries.

 The town center is mainly located around two small hills and is surrounded by mountains in the northern, western and southern side. It is considered to be part of the Gargano National Park. To the east, the town faces a plain of olive trees plantations rambling towards the Adriatic Sea. Like other parts of the region, the area surrounding Mattinata is a popular destination for botanical experts, drawn by the existence of around 60 different species of orchids. In addition to producing the typical regional products of olives, almonds, lemons and livestock, they are also known for the production of an Indian fig known as the ‘opuntia.’ While Mattinata may not be as beautiful as its northern neighbors of Vieste or Peschici, it may be worth a visit for an early lunch and a stroll through its quiet streets before pressing onwards towards towns further south or returning back north via the Umbra Forest. And, it certainly offers some lovely photographic moments worth capturing.