Polignano a Mare – Little Town, Big Reputation, Polignano a Mare, Italy (B)

Polignano a Mare in Puglia certainly lives up to its name ‘at sea’ as it is perched on the white cliffs of a rugged coastline. Its origins date back to the fourth century when Greek settlers founded the city of Neapolis. The city continued to flourish when the Romans. So much so that the Roman Emperor Trajan built his Via Traiana through the town and there are remains of this road north of its historic centre at the the archaeological site of Santa Barbara. I did walk along the road out of town to visit this archaeological site and discovered a field ablaze with wild flowers partially concealing two columns of a small arch and some ancient rubble. I would never have worked out that these were thought to be the remains of a Greek known as Neapolis – a theory supported by coins found on the site. It was renamed Polis-Nea (New City) then Polineanum which became Polignano and finally Polignano a Mare – the inspiration of a local notary. 

This enchanting place has several claims to fame – cliff diving, the birthplace of a famous composer, a unique cave restaurant and it is surrounded by beautiful countryside. I visited the town in the spring when the fields of olive trees lining the approach roads were a blaze of colour. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).