South of Bari on the Coast
Polignano a Mare is a picturesque town on the Adriatic Coast of Italy, just south of Bari - on a part of the littoral known as the Valle d’Itria. It is perched - quite literally - on a 60-foot-high limestone cliff.
Polignano a Mare
The origins of the town date back to the 4th century BC when Greek settlers founded the city of Neapolis. It continued to flourish under the Romans - indeed the Emperor Trajan directed his famous road, the Via Traiana, built between 108-110 AD - right through the town. You can still see remains of this road including a bridge at Lama Monachile, just north of the town centre.
The old town is reached through the Porta Vecchia gate and is made up of charming, white-washed streets dotted here and there with beautiful old churches such as the Chiesa Matrice. It’s a bit of myriad, but eventually you will probably issue out onto one of three panoramic terraces offering breathtaking views of the Adriatic coast.
After a stroll in town you can make your way to one of the beaches such as the town beach which has crystal clear waters and is flanked on two sides by cliffs that have become famous thanks to the Red Bull high diving competition.
Polignano is renowned for three things.
First and foremost - Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang numerous very well known songs which were famous throughout Italy. But one of them became famous around the world - Volare (originally entitled Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu). Locals are, of course, hugely proud of their famous son - and you will see this rather good statue of him on one of the terraces above the sea.
The town’s second claim to Italian fame at least is the superb ice-cream made here.
And the third is the aforementioned cliff diving. The Red Bull diving competition attracts crowds of some 50,000 people.
About 30 miles down the coast we come to Parco Naturale Regionale Dune Costiere da Torre Canne a Torre San Leonardo. The coastal dunes regional natural park which stretches down from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo is an interesting coastal area just off the main motorway. It was established in 2006. There are lagoons just behind the dunes which obviously attract all manner of birds. I was there in winter but I see that in high summer this place can be crowded with folk desperate to be beside the seaside - which I guess is the same with most of the Puglian coast.
Perhaps not so much the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area Coastal and marine reserve about five miles south again. I’d say this must be one of the least visited stretches of the entire Adriatic coast.
The nature reserve boasts a 16th-century defensive tower and a visitor center with a museum and not much else. But it is a rather lovely area - and wonderful for some winter walking before a mega-sized Puglian lunch - which is the only size of meal they do in this part of Italy.
The Torre Guaceto Marine Protection Area is a zone filled large numbers of Mediterranean species. The habitats include seagrass meadows, sandy beaches and deep-sea Mediterranean coral formations. The rocky intertidal areas have numerous forms of seaweed and sea urchins. The deeper water muddy areas are home to molluscs, brittle stars, sea stars, sea cucumbers and polychaetes.
Mediterranean coral formations are unique structures that contain red listed species such as yellow and white gorgonians. The seagrass meadows provide habitats for a variety of fish, crustaceans, sponges and molluscs. The European and common spiny lobster are commercially popular but are protected within the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area.
