The clifftop village that invented Volare — medieval white houses cantilevered over the Adriatic, sea-cave grottoes, and Red Bull cliff divers launching from the old town balconies
Polignano a Mare is a medieval white village built directly on a 15-metre limestone cliff above the Adriatic — its streets end abruptly at balconies hanging over the sea. The sea caves beneath the town are accessible by boat and in summer the main cave becomes a venue for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The town is the birthplace of Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang 'Volare' (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu) in 1958, winning the first Eurovision Song Contest and charting worldwide; a bronze statue stands in the main piazza.
The site was inhabited in the Bronze Age and was a significant Messapian settlement before becoming a Roman town. The medieval white town with tightly packed lanes and high sea-facing walls dates from the 9th-12th centuries. The 16th-century Spanish fortifications — the Arco Marchesale gate — remain the main entrance to the old town. Domenico Modugno's 'Volare' was not just an Italian pop hit but the first international song to chart number one in the USA for 13 weeks and the first Latin pop crossover in American chart history.