Holiday apartment in San Marco La Catola – historic alleys and mountain landscape

San Marco La Catola lies at an altitude of over 600 metres and is one of the highest villages in Apulia.

Churches, alleys and the Palazzo Ducale

The well-preserved historic centre of San Marco La Catola is characterised by the c’nant, narrow alleys with steep stairways. The oldest part of the village developed around the Palazzo Ducale. Locally, it is referred to as a castle, but in fact it is a ducal palace. The Palazzo Ducale also contains the original chapel dedicated to Saint Mark the Evangelist; its original entrance portal is decorated.

The town’s ecclesiastical history includes the present-day Chiesa parrocchiale di San Nicola di Mira. It was completed in 1611 and replaced the former parish of San Giacomo, which stood on the site of today’s town hall. The church houses a valuable collection of sacred vestments donated by the Pignatelli family. Another religiously significant site is the Santuario della Madonna di Josafat. It contains a Byzantine-style wooden bas-relief depicting the Madonna di Giosafat.

San Pio stayed briefly at the monastery of the Santuario della Madonna di Josafat in 1904, when he was still a theology student.

Sentiero Italia, mountains and forest

Stage SI Q01 of the Sentiero Italia leads downhill from San Marco La Catola to the La Catola River and then follows the Tratturo Castel di Sangro-Lucera to the historic Ponte dei Tredici Archi before continuing into Molise. For hiking planning, the stage can be understood as a continuous route from the village starting point via the river and tratturo to the bridge, before the onward route to Molise.

The area around San Marco La Catola includes Monte Sambuco, Serra Meccaglia, Monte Verdone and Pesco Carta; all four are mountains. There is also the Bosco San Cristoforo, a forest covering approximately 300 hectares and consisting predominantly of downy oak.

The wider regional area around San Marco La Catola contains several historic sites with different classifications. Castello Di Capua is a castle, while Villa Clementina is a palace. Priorato di S. Matteo di Sculgola is a ruin site, and the Tempio italico is an ancient site.

Getting to San Marco La Catola

San Marco La Catola is connected to Foggia by a bus service operated by SITA Autolinee S.p.A. The connection to Foggia adds a specific travel-related aspect to the landscape and cultural themes.

Other places in the region

Other places in the region include: Deliceto, Lucera, Giardinetto Vecchio, Stornara, Pugnochiuso, Lesina, Lido Del Sole and Rignano Garganico.

For the higher-level travel overview: Foggia.