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 the bay of Molinella, the remains of a village of huts dating back to the Bronze Age were found. The settlement was protected by an imposing defensive wall, while the piling holes of the huts were mainly observable. On the top of the relief there was a dolmen, similar to those found in other places in the Gargano and north of Bari. The Dolmen of Molinella, unfortunately destroyed, represented a unique example of megalithic architecture in northern Puglia, dated between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age. Finds near the site include pottery and a bronze sword.
In a cave in the area, the Drisiglia cave, many lithic artefacts obtained from the processing of flint were found: arrowheads, knives and tools for working leather, 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.
