What is Polignano a Mare known for?

Cove beach under the Roman bridge between the cliff walls of the centro storico, the most-photographed view in Puglia. Born here in 1928, wrote Volare, won the 1958 Grammy Award for Record of the Year, the most internationally famous Italian song ever recorded. Sea cave restaurant under the old town, used for noble banquets since the eighteenth century, now booked months in advance.

Where is Polignano a Mare?

Polignano a Mare is a comune in the province of Bari, Apulia region of Italy, about 37 kilometers from Bari.

Apulia · Bari

Polignano a Mare

The Adriatic cliff town thirty kilometers south of Bari, built on a twenty-metre limestone bluff, birthplace of Domenico Modugno.

37 km / 23 mi

Nearest hub (Bari)

17,531

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Blu

Why come

Polignano a Mare sits on a limestone cliff twenty to twenty-seven meters above the Adriatic, thirty kilometers south of Bari. The historic centre is a maze of whitewashed lanes cut into the rock, dropping down to the Lama Monachile cove, the narrow beach between two rock walls and under the arches of the Roman bridge of the Via Traiana. Archaeology in the Santa Barbara district shows continuous settlement since prehistory, and the site has been identified with the ancient Greek Neapolis of Apulia, possibly founded by Dionysius II of Syracuse in the fourth century BC. Julius Caesar features in another origin claim along the Via Traiana. Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang "Nel blu dipinto di blu" and won the 1958 Grammy with it, was born here in 1928; his statue stands on the lungomare that bears his name. The Grotta Palazzese, a sea cave under the old town, has held a restaurant since the eighteenth century when the Leto princes used it for banquets.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Polignano a Mare fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Gallery

9 photos · scroll →

Known for

Lama Monachile
Narrow cove between two cliff walls in the centre of town, under the arches of the Roman bridge of the Via Traiana, the town's signature postcard.
Centro storico
Whitewashed old town on the limestone cliff, narrow lanes, balconies hanging over the sea, and three surviving medieval gates.
Grotta Palazzese
Sea cave under the cliff used by the Leto princes for banquets in the eighteenth century, now a restaurant carved into the rock.
Ponte Romano di Lama Monachile
Stone bridge of the Via Traiana spanning the lama, the original Roman crossing rebuilt over the cove.
Statua di Domenico Modugno
Bronze of the singer with arms open in the gesture of Volare, on the seafront promenade that bears his name.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season the cliffs and the cove work: warm sea, long evenings, the Lama Monachile crowded by ten in the morning in July and August and impossible to swim from after noon. June and September are the better months, the water already warm and the day-tripper buses thinner. October keeps the light and empties the centro storico. November through March the wind off the Adriatic hits the cliff hard and many restaurants close; the Red Bull Cliff Diving event in early autumn marks the end of the season. Winter is the time to walk the lungomare without a crowd.