Every design for Manfredonia

From the walls of the Castello Svevo-Angioino di Manfredonia, the view runs east across the gulf that bears the town's name, with Monte Gargano rising to the north. Manfredonia faces the morning sun on the Adriatic, on the southern edge of the Gargano National Park, where a low sandy shore turns into higher, rockier coast.

The town has always been shaped by water. King Manfred, son of Frederick II, built it in the thirteenth century after nearby Siponto was abandoned to its stagnant lagoons. Behind the town, wetlands were drained long ago, but the lake of Salso survives as a nature reserve, fed by the Cervaro. There is a deep sense of time here: the Parco archeologico di Siponto lies just outside the centre, the Grotta Scaloria is another archaeological site nearby, the Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Manfredonia keeps what has been found, and the castle still stands with stretches of the old Mura della Città.

Come home along the coast road, see the castle and the long curve of the gulf, and Manfredonia is there waiting.