Vieste is one of the most important tourist destinations in the Gargano area. Repeatedly awarded the Blue Flag for the quality of its waters and bathing facilities, today it is a favorite destination for visitors who want to explore the Gargano.

One of the symbols of the Apulian town is undoubtedly the Pizzomunno, a huge limestone monolith about 25 meters high. It is located on Castle Beach, so named because it is dominated by the Swabian Castle.

Given its grandeur, this giant stone almost seems to act as a guardian of Vieste, which is why it has become one of the iconic places in the small town of Foggia. Around the Pizzomunno over time, a great number of legends which often differ from each other. To this oral tale handed down from generation to generation Max Gazzè dedicated his song La leggenda di Cristalda e Pizzomunno, with which he participated in the Sanremo Festival in 2018.

The official version of the legend of Pizzomunno and Cristalda

Apulia is a land very much associated with mystical and magical traditions, and this is reflected in most of the local legends that have been passed on for centuries now, which often speak of goblins, queens, kings and lovers with a fate that does not always have a happy ending.

One of the best known and most romantic Apulian legends is undoubtedly that of Pizzomunno and Cristalda. The backdrop is the town of Vieste, renowned for the beauty of its sea and the splendor of its white cliffs. Of the story of these two young men there are inevitably several versions, as is the case with everything that is passed down orally from father to son.

There is neither one predominant over the others born when Vieste was still a small village of fishermen. These had decided to erect their dwellings near the sea so that they could transport fish more easily and then sell them at the village market.

The main characters are Pizzomunno and Cristalda, two young and beautiful boys. He was a strong, tall young man who was the object of courtship by the other girls in the village. Cristalda, too, was a maiden of rare beauty, with her long blond hair that resembled the shimmer of sunlight and ears of corn.

Pizzomunno was a fisherman who spent many hours of the day working. When he went out in his boat, he was sometimes tempted by the mermaids who populated the sea at Vieste and wanted to lure sailors with their bewitching songs. To convince Pizzomunno, the mermaids offered themselves as his servants to stay by his side forever.

The boy, however, was most loyal to his beloved Cristalda and decided to decisively decline the invitation. Mortally offended, the sirens vowed to take revenge for the affront they had suffered. The two young men used to meet on the shore to exchange effusions in the moonlight, and one night the magical creatures emerged from the chasms Taking Cristalda to the bottom of the sea.

Destroyed by grief at the loss of the woman he loved, Pizzomunno petrified himself, transforming into the immense stone monolith that dominates the beach at Vieste. The legend does not end like this, however, as it seems that the spell that had befallen the unfortunate couple could be temporarily dissolved every 100 years, on the night of the August 15. On this day they are allowed to love each other because Pizzomunno resumes human form and Cristalda re-emerges from the sea that had swallowed her. This, then, is the most common version among the inhabitants of Vieste.

Other versions and superstitions around the Apulian legend

Of the legend of Pizzomunno and Cristalda there are different versions. According to one, Cristalda is a mermaid in love with the handsome Pizzomunno. The boys allegedly loved each other until her sisters, jealous of his good fortune in love, turned the young man into a rock. The ending of the story would be the same, with the two reuniting and returning to love each other once in 100 years.

The tales and stories about Pizzomunno's rock also provided space for a whole series of superstitions. An ancient belief is that by circling the rock making a wish, it then comes true. The majestic boulder sticking out of the water has thus whetted the imagination and romance of local lovers who often want to spend sweet evenings admiring it from afar.