On the way to Gargano, coming from the Tavoliere (tableland) of Apulia, the Lake of Varano is to reach. It is fed by underground sources and is the biggest (60,5 km²) of the two coast lakes on the Adriatic Sea. The place is very nice: a narrow layer of land, covered with sand-dunes and little woods, separates the lake from the sea. It creeps into its waters with two channels, Varano estuary and Capoiale estuary. Cagnano Varano overlooks this place. It can be the ancient italic town Uria. Carpino is the town of olive-oil and of the folk song of Gargano with its ten-years “Carpino folk festival” an important music show, that takes place in the first ten days of August. Along an uphill winding road, with a fine view over the lake, Ischitella is to reach. It is a medieval small town, hometown of the well-known historian and jurist Pietro Giannone. The lake of Lesina is a little deep backwater, it formed because of the blocking of the sea inlet. It is well-known for eels and for a great number of migratory fauna, which lives among the cane-brake. In the VII cent. in the town Lesina, whose population was often decimated by malaria, the population of Lucera, on the run from the Byzantines, took shelter. In the XI-XVI cent. it was also town-county and bishop’s seat. The Main Church (nineteenth-century reconstruction of a preceding Romanesque church), the Abbey of Santa Maria di Ripalta (pilgrimage destination 9 km far from the town) and the Visitors centre of the National Park of Gargano are to visit.

Karstification
The Karst formation of international interest is due to the geological nature of Gargano. Caves, dolinas, sinkholes are to be found all over the region. An important sign of the Karst formation is the Dolina Pozzatiana, south of San Nicandro Garganico. It is 100 m deep and 1850 m of circumference. It is one of the biggest dolinas in Italy, a natural amphitheatre with a sub-circular edge. About 600 caves are the result of a deep karstification; from an archaeological point of view, the Paglicci Cave (Rignano Garganico) is one of the most interesting. This international-famous prehistoric area is situated halfway between two different places: down the fiery tableland of Tavoliere and on the top the mountain with rocky crags. The prehistoric man probably lived here 200.000 – 10.000 years ago. The place is a rich treasure: since 1961 more than 40.000 finds were discovered, among these two skeletons: of a boy at the age of thirteen and of a young woman of twenty. They date back to the Gravettian era about 23.000 years ago. In Rignano Garganico, that overlooks the Tavoliere from a panoramic position, the Paglicci Institute for Research and a Museum, dedicated to the cave, are located. The Paglicci Cave, unlikely open to the public, is placed on the road Rignano Garganico-Foggia. Halfway between Monte Sant’Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo in a big enclosed basin, that soaks water, coming from the near ?elds, the Grave of Campolato is placed. It is a vertical 100 m deep chasm and is the most important deep and big cavity in Gargano and in the Southern Italy. It is dif?cult to explore the cave for unexpected floods and for the presence of water and mud.