Natural landescapes in Gargano. Welcome to Masseria Canestrello, Apulia

Natural landscapes in Gargano

When Gregorovius, the famous traveller, climbed the Tavoliere on his way to the Gargano in 1882, he saw a flaming sunset, "on the rocky face of the mountain placed there by the Gods to guard the entrance to Paradise".

Paradise can be compared to an island surrounded on three sides by the Adriatic sea and on the fourth side, by the endless green sea of grass of the Tavoliere.
The isolation of this promontory has favoured the autonomous evolution of some species of flora and fauna which can be found only in these areas.
The National Park of Gargano is a small but rich microcosm, harmonious and pleasant to the visitor, who in this very limited space comes across a unique type of vegetation and species of fauna.
In only a few kilometres of distance in fact, the traveller passes from mountain forests to swamps and lagoons on the coast.
The seasons determine the rhythm of change, together with all the transformations operated by man. On the highlands you will see numerous terraced fields, constructed across the centuries with great hardship, to obtain cultivable land on these rocky faces; you will also see the citrus fruits gardens overlooking the sea, the inland farms, the orchards that contend space to the forests.

The flora

Gargano, although quite a limited territory has a remarkable variety of plants. The flora of these areas numbers around 2000 different species, 33% of which are of national origin and as much as 47 species of spontaneous orchids.
It simply takes a walk across the meadows and the grazing gields to find these orchids and to enjoy their beauty. At times you find a great number of different orchids in a few square metres of land. To learn their names you can ask for a guide book available at the offices of the Park or else consult the booklet with all the names and characteristics of these species.
The forests which in the past covered all the promontory, today are known as the Umbrian forest, The Quarto Forest, Spigno, Ceresaldi, Spinapulci, all of them rich in various species such as beech, maple trees, oaks, carpinus betulus, ash-trees, holms and limewood. Along the coast the Pines of Aleppo with the underbrush of sweet smelling rosemary, cistus incanus, Phyllireas, rhamnus alaternus, myrtle and mastic trees.

The grand green patriarchs

We are reminded of the great forests of the past by the archaic presence of some of the most monumental trees that have been in existance from 800 to 2000 years.
Perhaps the most monumental species really worth a visit, the Gargano Park guides point out the following:

-the holm of the Cappucin Convent in Vico of Gargano
-the majestic column-like bitter oaks of the Forest of Quarto and Spinapulci
-The colossal plurisecular beech trees of the Umbrian forest
-the carob tree of Vignanotica which has a diameter of 13 metres at its base
-the gnarled olive trees of Torre Mileto
-the gigantic oak in the vicinity of the Abbey of Calena at Peschici

The fauna

The isolation of this territory with its great variety of landscapes has greatly influenced the presence of different species of animals. The deer of Gargano for example is a local native species, once present all over the Italian peninsula but which currently exists only in this region. Among other species there is the wild cat, the meadow hen, the skunk, the bat together with a large variety of bird species that migrate here to these humid zones during their mating season.

The damp zones of the Park are the lagoons of Lesina and Varano, the swamp of Frattarolo and the ex Daunia Risi.
In Frattarolo or in the ex Dauna Risi 170 species of birds mate and reproduce, and 108 of these are rare or almost extinct species. These bird sanctuaries are extremely interesting and beautiful places, a sort of Garden of Eden where the play of colours is paramount.
If you love to photograph the beauties of Nature extraordinary surprises await you here.

Our album