Historic center of Vieste

The historic center of Vieste is extremely suggestive for its narrow and sinuous streets sometimes joined by arches, and is made characteristic by its white houses and stairways.

The historic center of Vieste, commonly called "Vieste Vecchia", stands compact on a rock dominating the sea that extends from the castle beach to that of the "small marina" through the thin strip of land of "Punta San Francesco".

The ancient village, of medieval origin has kept its original characteristics almost intact, with its characteristic irregular alleys, squares / belvedere (open to the sea) and the terraced houses marked in the prospect by small balconies / balconies (mignali) and joined at the streets by small and characteristic arches. Inside the ancient city walls, the architectural fabric becomes very dense and marked by a maze of narrow streets. The palaces, churches and minute residential building types appear compact and massive, almost like a single episode built. The south-east part of the village, indicated as "Ripa district" extends over the steep shore of the sea, creating one show of incredible contrast between the immensity of the sea and the ancient town that dominates overlooking it overlooking it. The "Ripa" had the ancient function of a natural port, a true gateway to the city in an era in which lack of roads made moving by sea a necessity, making commercial exchanges with the inhabitants of modern Croatia so frequent.

Among the many houses, the small church of San Pietro d'Alcantara stands out for its simple architectural forms.