Gargano

Gargano is a historical and geographical sub-region in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southeast Italy, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea, the "spur" on the Italian "boot". The high point is Monte Calvo at 1,065 m (3,494 ft). Most of the upland area, about 1,200 km² (460 sq mi), is part of the Gargano National Park, founded in 1991. It is within the Italian Province of Foggia.

The Gargano peninsula is partly covered by the remains of an ancient forest, Foresta Umbra, the only remaining part in Italy of the ancient oak and beech forest that once covered much of Central Europe as well as the Apennine deciduous montane forest biome. The Latin poet Horace spoke of the oaks of Garganus in Ode II, ix.

Tourism

The coast of Gargano houses numerous beaches and tourist facilities, including resorts such as Vieste, Peschici and Mattinata. The two major salt lakes of Lesina and Varano are located in the northern part of the peninsula. Monte Gargano is the site of the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the archangel Michael, Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano.

Walter Gargano

Walter Alejandro Gargano Guevara (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwalter ɣarˈɣano]; born 23 July 1984) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Monterrey club and the Uruguayan national team.

Club career

Gargano started playing football at age of three and joined youth club, now defunct, Centella in Paysandú. In the youth club, he was in the midfield position. While in the youth, Gargano played against his future club Danubio, where he was soon discovered by the club and joined them.

Danubio

Gargano started his professional career with Danubio in 2003 and made his league debut at age of nineteen. He won two national titles with Danubio (2004 (which was his first season winning it) and 2006/07). Gargano made 102 appearance and scored three times and was a regular player in the first team.

Napoli

On 30 June 2007, Gargano agreed a transfer from Uruguayan club Danubio, to newly promoted Napoli for a fee of £2m. He signed a 5-year contract. He made his first appearance for the club in a 4–0 win over Cesena and made his Serie A debut on 26 August 2007 against Cagliari. On 20 October 2007, He scored his first goal in a 4–4 draw against Roma and scored the following week, in a 3–1 win over Juventus. In his first season, he made 34 appearance and scored twice. Also during his first season, Gargano had received two sending off with a second bookable offence in a 5–2 loss against Milan on 13 January 2008 and three months on, a straight red card in a 2–1 win over Parma on 20 April 2008.