The Molinella beach is located less than 4 km from Vieste in the north direction. It is a quiet beach with a shallow sandy seabed, 400 meters long, nestled between greenery and two rocky peninsulas.
On the northern cliff there is a trabucco recently restored.
Among the bathing establishments present, we find the Cala Molinella Beach Club, a beach with private parking that allows you to enjoy comfortable sun loungers, umbrellas, but also rent a SUP and experience convivial moments with light lunches, aperitifs and tastings until sunset.
On a hill not far from Molinella Bay, the remains of a Bronze Age hut village were discovered. The settlement was protected by an imposing defensive wall, while the huts were mostly visible through their post holes. At the top of the hill was a dolmen, similar to those found elsewhere in the Gargano and north of Bari.
The Molinella Dolmen, sadly destroyed, represented a unique example of megalithic architecture in northern Puglia, dating from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Finds near the site include pottery and a bronze sword. In a nearby cave, the Drisiglia Cave, numerous flint artifacts were found: arrowheads, knives, leather tools, and axes.
The Molinella cliff is crossed by a path that starts from Porticello tower and reaches the bay of San Lorenzo, which offers a suggestive landscape with jagged rocks, shaped by the millenary action of the waves and winds from the north. This breathtaking panorama is ideal for relaxing walks in any season.
Nearby, native plants such as Salicornia and naturalized ones such as the Prickly Pear enrich the landscape. The northern cliff is home to ancient calcarenite quarries, known locally as "tufi". The calcarenite of this stretch of coast, more malleable than that found between Vieste and Mattinata, facilitated the cutting operation of the lithic material which was used for many centuries for the buildings of the historic center of Vieste, including the Cathedral Romanesque.
