Mattinata is an Apulian town in the Province of Foggia located on the coast at the foot of the Gargano Promontory, situated in a green valley of olive trees surrounded by the sea and the woods, completely part of the Gargano National Park.
It was formerly called Matinum then Matino and finally took its current name.
Today Mattinata is mainly known as a popular tourist resort, featuring wonderful landscape views, typical of the Gargano area. The clear pebble beach is only 1 km. away from the town. Due to the extraordinary sea, it has been repeatedly awarded with the Blue Flag by the Foundation for Environmental Education. In 2010 it received 3 sails from the Blue Guide of Legambiente.
Agriculture is the main activity of the local population and the main products are olives, almonds, fioroni, figs, plums, apples quinces, pomegranates, persimmons , citrus fruits and prickly pears.
What to see
Very impressive is the city's Historical Center, better known as Junno, where you can still find some typical constructions made of dry stone called pagghière, dating back to the eighteenth century.
Inside the Old Town very impressive are the Palazzo Mantuano, built in 1840 and today hosts the Municipal Library, and the elegant Palazzo Beretta, that hosts the City Hall, with a large entrance and huge door topped with a round arch, built in the early ' 900.
On the Monte Saraceno there is a cemetery containing over 500 tombs with the shape a uterus, to symbolize the return, after death, to a prenatal life, covered by Stele Daune, large slabs of stone topped with heads and shields according to the importance of the deceased.
On the Sacro Monte you can admire the ruins of the Abazia Benedettina della Santissima Trinità(Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Trinity), a complex with a three naves church and a Romanesque monastery.
Inside there was a chapel dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo and a square baptistery.
From a purely naturalistic point of view,the Vignanotica Bay is very suggestive, and it’s also known as Baia dei Gabbiani due to a large number of gulls that populate this area, a pebble beach, which is characterized by the presence of a great number of caves, carved by the sea, located on the high part of the coast, distant about 13km from Mattinata.
A worldwide beauty, is also Baia dei Mergoli, featuring high cliffs, two stacks, pine forests and a bay of white pebbles.
Events
• 14/16 September – Festival in honour of Santa Maria della Luce
• September - Festival in honor of San Matteo
• Last Saturday in April - Feast of the Madonna dell’Incoronata