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Churches

Chiesa Madre (Mother Church)

Mentioned in the report of the AD 1678 pastoral visit of the Archbishop of Manfredoina, Cardinal Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII), the church is dedicated to La Santissima Vergine Assunta (Most Blessed Virgin of the Assumption). Built adjacent to the castle, this is the oldest parish church in Vico and crowns the hill up the sides of which the dwellings of Civita and Casale cling.

The plain, gabled facade features a lateral quadrangular bell tower and stone framed doorway, the lintel of which is decorated with bas-relief plant motifs and the date AD 1675. A cupola tops the building creating the pointed silhouette characteristic of the hilltop citadel. The church has three naves, eleven altars and houses the statues of the patron saints of Vico, the Madonna del Rifugio and San Valentino.

Chiesa dei Santissimi Apostoli Pietro e Paolo (Church of Most Holy Apostles Peter & Paul)

Located in Piazza San Domenico, once the most important square in Vico, the church adjoined the Convento dei Padri Predicatori Domenicani (Convent of the Dominican Preaching Fathers). The luminous church boasts a central nave with a barrel vaulted ceiling, two lateral aisles, seven chapels and houses the statue of San Rocco whose feast day is on August 16th. Closed down in AD 1809, the convent half of the property passed to the Italian state and is today the Municipal Hall.

Chiesa del Purgatorio (Church of Purgatory)

Dedicated to Santa Maria del Suffragio (St Mary of Suffrage), the church stands in the Borgo Nuovo at Fuoriporta and is home to the Confraternita della Morte ed Orazione (Confraternity of Death and Prayer). It is thought that a relic kept in the church is a fragment of the Holy Cross.

This church is where, in AD 1759, the Accademia degli Eccitati Viciensi (Academy of the Excited of Vico) was estabished and it is here that Monsignor Domenico Arcaroli, academic, last bishop of Vieste and one of the most famous members of the academy, lies buried. Priests, Capuchin fathers, doctors and physicists, all with the common goal of "exciting" young minds and encouraging their betterment through philosophical, religious, scientific, social and economic discussion. The intelligentia of Vico thought that by dragging them from their slumber of ignorance the academy would create a class of leaders capable of facing and adapting to ever-changing times, firmly believing that the acquisition of knowledge through study was the only element of human civilisation capable of countering the new barbarians.

Chiesa della Misercordia (Church of Mercy)

"On a public road, almost a stone's throw from the Convent of San Domenico , there is an isolated chapel named Misericordia"; this is how the church is described in the AD 1726 Valuation Report of the fiefdom of Vico. In mid 19thC documents the dimensions are given as 20 palms long, 18 palms wide and 18 high. Having already been restored in AD 1626, subsequent improvement works included the addition of an organ in AD 1861 and, in AD 1902, an extension with elevation of the facade topped with an elegant triangular gable. The church has a single altar dedicated to Santa Maria Misericordiarum seu ad Nives and houses a precious wooden statue of her. This pretty little church is home to the Confraternita di San Pietro.

Chiesa Madonna del Carmine (Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel)

Home to the Confraternita dei Carmelitani Scalzi (Confraternity of the Discalced Carmelites) the church is described in the AD 1726 Valuation Report of the fiefdom of Vico as "a grange located on the top of a gentle hill consisting of a little church". Once a Carmelite convent, already closed down by the mid 17thC, all that remains of the complex is a small church with a single barrel vaulted nave and an adjoining asymmetrical room where the statues of the Mysteries stand (carried in procession on Good Friday).

Over the centuries, numerous restoration works were carried out, to the point that it is no longer possible to discern the original heart of the convent: the sacristy is thought to have been created from a segment of the original cloister. The façade, on the other hand, is the original and includes a bell tower and a stone framed doorway with bas-reliefs of three mountains surmounted by a cross.

Chiesa di San Giuseppe (Church of St Joseph)

A church of great charm located in the Terra quarter, also known as Borgo Vecchio, it features an imposing neoclassical doorway, a single lateral nave that is separated from the central nave by columned arches and a number of beautiful stained glass windows. The church houses a wooden statue of the recumbent deceased Jesus Christ which is carried around the town in an evocative procession every Good Friday. The life-like statue is mentioned in the AD 1726 Valuation Report of the fiefdom of Vico.

The church is home to the historic Confraternita dei Cinturati di Sant'Agostino e S Monica (Confraternity of The Belted [brothers] of St Augustine & St Monica). An historic confraternity who recently financed necessary restoration works during which an ancient burial site came to light; perhaps the tomb of a hermit who was once custodian of the church and its holy contents.

Chiesa di San Nicola (Church of St Nicholas)

The church, known as the Chapel of St Nicholas of Mira, was already in existence in 1676, as reported in the records of the AD 1678 pastoral visit of the Archbishop of Manfredoina, Cardinal Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII). At the time the church was in poor condition, with a single altar, an image of St Nicholas and a cabinet containing St Nicholas' Manna (an edible substance provided by God to the Israelites). In the account of a second visit in AD 1726 the church is described as having a single nave and a ceiling of painted boards. Previously home of the Confraternity of St Nicolo of the Dead, in 1810 the church became home to the Arciconfraternita del Santissimo Sacramento (Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament).

The facade is dominated by an impressive 16thC doorway made of local stone with the inscription "Mememto Mori" (a symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death) on the architrave. A stone plaque to the right of the doorway states that the altar in the church is dedicated to the deceased while another on the left commemorates the 1678 reconcecration of the church.

Chiesa dell'Annunziata (Church of the Annunciation)

Beautiful little church dedicated to the Annunciation. This tiny chapel houses an 1854 wooden statue of the Annunciation creayed by the Neapolitan sculptor Verzella. And on the ceiling a painting of the Annunziata dating back to 1700.

Chiesa di San Marco Evangelista (Church of St Mark the Evangelist)

The church dates back to the 14thC, confirmed by the recently discovered important frescoes, the characteristic layout and the date of AD 1365 inscribed on the bell which is thought to be the original. At the time of the AD 1678 pastoral visit of the Archbishop of Manfredoina, Cardinal Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII) the church was extra-moenia (located outside the citadel walls).

During the first half of the 18thC an altar dedicated to St George was added to the two existing altars dedicated to La Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of the Graces) and to St Mark. Adjoining the church is the Nunnery of the Visitation which, authorised by Ferdinand II, only remained active for the first few decades of the 19thC.

Chiesa di San Pietro (Church of St Peter)

Since time immemorial there has been a chapel on the hill known locally as "Monte Tabor". The chapel then became a church and in the 18thC was topped with a dome. Dedicated to the Apostle St Peter, medieval documents attest to the fact that the church was already well-known during the time of the Normans.

Mentioned in a papal brief of Pope Alexander III dated AD 1167 and in the records of the AD 1197 conference of Clement III, in AD 1792 the Vichese Canon D Pietro Finis transformed the church and its adjoining land into an extra-moenia cemetery (a cemetery located outside the citadel walls). It was the third such cemetery in Italy, after those in Pisa and Naples, and lead to the abandonment of the custom of interments within the church. Subsequently the cemetery fell into disuse and over time the church fell into ruin, helped along the way by destructive meteorological events.

Recent (circa AD 1970) extensive works strove to restore the church to its original condition, reproducing its original shape and maintaining what still exists of the original structure. During the construction of the modern Istituto di S. Pietro important finds were unearthed; ancient tombs, including one containing the skeleton of a warrior of noteworthy proportions.

Chiesa di Santa Maria Pura (Church of St Mary the Pure)

Much loved by the locals, many are the tales of miraculous events that have taken place here. This charming church is located just outside the citadel walls below the ancient Civita quarter and stands guard over a brook that gives rise to the Asciatizzi stream. This is one of the few perennial water courses of the Gargano that, having collected waters from the many springs along the way, flows into the sea at Molino di Mare in the municipality of Rodi Garganico.

The church dates back to the 17th-18thC and is embellished with decorative stone work and statues created from the local soft stone in Lecce Baroque style. Adjoining the church is a much restored building which, during the 18thC, was a hospital run by the "Fatebenefratelli" (Do-good-brothers) for the care of sick soldiers.

The name of the church comes from the ancient custom of burying virgins and children there, as is confirmed in the "Book of the Dead" kept in the Chiesa Madre (Mother Church) with entries dating back to AD 1600. It is believed locally that the church stands on a much older structure; perhaps the Temple of Calcante (Calchas). However, no records exist of any archaeological excavations or research that might prove the legend.

Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Church of St Mary of the Angels)

The Convent, also known to the locals as Santissimo Crocifisso (Most Holy Crucifix), stands on a hill about a mile outside the citadel and was established in around AD 1556 by the then recently founded Capuchin Order (mentioned in the 1526 papal brief of Clemente VII). Once the location of ancient human settlements, possibly even Neolithic, a chapel is known to have been present on this site since the 10thC. It is not possible to discern the original structure as it was, almost certainly, incorporated into the walls of the existing convent and church.

With an original Cloister, of the type common to the many Franciscan Convents in the Gargano, the church originally had a single nave. A second nave was added at the time of the reconstruction that followed the collapse caused by the earthquake of AD 1646. The restoration works were carried out at the expense of the local feudal lord, Caracciolo, with the help of the people. Many important works of art are housed in the church including oils on canvas paintings, several wooden statues, one of which is a famous wooden crucifix thought to be the work of a Venetian artist of the 17thC.

History and legend intertwine around the convent, not least thanks to the majestic, centuries-old Holm-oak (quercus ilex) that towers over the courtyard in front of the church. It is a rare remnant of the ancient Gargano forests that once covered the entire area.

Chiesa di San Martino (Church of St Martin)

Built within the citadel walls, this tiny chapel was dedicated to a saint who certainly reminded some feudal lord or other of his land of origin. Although recently restored, the church remains out of use.

In the AD 1726 Valuation Report of the fiefdom of Vico, it says: "it consists of a room covered with a roof ... an altar whose creation is attributed to the saint himself".

Chiesa di Santa Maria di Canneto (Church of Our Lady of Canneto)

The church takes its name from its location where there is also one of the many natural springs in the municipality. Surrounded by citrus groves the building is topped with a bell-gable with a single bell. Inside, the church consists of a single room with a tiny altar surmounted by a statue of Santa Maria dell’Assunta (St Mary of the Assumption) to whom the church is dedicated. The church is opened up for worship on August 15th each year in honour of the occasion of the feast day of Santa Maria dell’Assunta (St Mary of the Assumption); feast day that is also known as "mezz’agosto” or "ferragosto".

Chiesa di San Rocco del Vasto (Church of St Rocco of Vasto)

A small country church located in the countryside between Vico and the Foresta Umbra. Simply adorned with an altar and the stations of the Via Crucis, the church also boasts a bell-gable with two bells, the oldest of which is rung on August 16th each year in honour of the feast day of St Rocco.

Chiesa di San Michele in Campagna (Church of St Michele in the Countryside)

Located on the road betwen Vico and San Menaio, this little country church was first mentioned in a document of 1176. Reconstructed in its current form in the 19thC, it houses a colourful wooden statue of St Michael the Archangel, a 19thC sculpture of the Neapolitan school.

Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie (Church of Our Lady of the Graces)

Known in 1176 as the Madonna delle Calenelle (Our Lady of the Calenellas) this tiny country church stands among the olive groves and woodlands in a valley that meets the sea at Calenella Bay. A bell-gable with a single bell (now sadly missing) that used to ring out on September 8th each year on the occasion of the annual service to bless the olives to ensure an abundant harvest. Sadly due to bad weather making the access road impassable this annual ritual has not taken place since 2013.

In 2021 Giovanni Canestrale, an olive farmer with adjoining lands, made an amazing discovery during repair works he was carrying out inside the church. As luck would have it, on the very day of the feast day of Our lady of the Graces, he uncovered from beneath many layers of crumbling plaster, some beautiful ancient frescoes.

Chiesa di San Francesco (Church of St Francis)

Built in 1882 for the purpose of preparing citrus fruits for sale and exportation, the building was converted to a church in 1979-1980 by capuchin friars. Located directly opposite the Torre dei Preposti, it marks the boundary between the "historic" area of San Menaio and the more recently developed area of the seaside resort.

Chiesa di Sant'Antonio (Church of St Anthony)

Listed in ecclesiastical inventories dating back to the 12thC and 13thC, the original chapel upon which the current church stands, is referred to as "oratori S. Mennae" in the records of the AD 1678 pastoral visit of the Archbishop of Manfredoina, Cardinal Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII).

In a panoramic position above the Chiesa di San Franesco and overlooking the beaches of San Menaio, this church was built in the early 1600s . With a plain facade and late renaissance interior, it houses a 17thC wooden altar. Once a private chapel, it was only recently converted to full church status.

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Difesa Stella di Mare (St Mary of Difesa Star of the Sea)

Completed in 1904, this tiny church stands overlooking the sea and sands of San Menaio on the edge of the Pineta Marzini, an ancient wooded area with many, centuries' old Aleppo pine trees.

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