Polignano a Mare

The old town sits on a limestone terrace above the Adriatic, undercut by dozens of sea caves, some open to the sky and some accessible only by boat; one, the Grotta Palazzese, has a restaurant built inside the cave mouth. Lama Monachile is a small pebble beach in a ravine between two cliff walls, crossed by a bridge that carried the ancient Via Traiana. Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang Nel blu dipinto di blu, known as Volare, was born here and has a statue on the seafront. A cliff-diving competition is held from the rocks in summer.

History

The area has been settled since prehistoric times, as excavations at Santa Barbara show, and the town is believed to stand on the site of the ancient Greek city of Neapolis of Apulia, which some historians take to be one of two colonies founded in the 4th century BC by Dionysius II of Syracuse. The Byzantines organised it as a municipality in the 6th century, the Normans boosted its olive oil production in the 11th, the Angevins fortified it, and under the Aragonese crown it reached its economic and cultural peak (Wikipedia, Polignano a Mare).

What to look for

• Lama Monachile - a pebble cove in a ravine between cliff walls.
• The sea caves - dozens undercutting the town, visited by boat.
• The Roman bridge - the Via Traiana crossing above the cove.
• The Modugno statue - a memorial to the singer born in the town.

When to go

May to September; boat cave trips run in calm weather only. August is extremely crowded and the small cove fills early. Winter storms close the shore.

What to expect

The beach is small pebble and packed in season. Boat trips are weather dependent. The town is heavily geared to day visitors with high prices.

Nearby

Monopoli lies south; Bari is north.

Key facts