Polignano a Mare was the last stop of our Puglian road trip. It was a place to slow down and pass the days swimming in glorious Adriatic waters. Our private rooftop patio overlooking the iconic Cala Porto beach was the ideal base for this. White pebbles of Cala Porto make the beach look spectacular but they are not fun to lay or walk barefoot on (water sandals are a must!), so we appreciated having our own beach beds and umbrellas on the patio.
We stayed in Polignano over the weekend, and my ultimate, euphoric Italia moment happened on a Saturday night when the whole town square sang along with a street musican “Lasciatemi Cantare”, a song of my Soviet childhood.
Food-wise, there are two things to mention about Polignano: gelato is great everywhere and Il Quadrifoglio on via Roma has very good, the best pizza. So good that my partner, who teases me for immediately wanting to repeat good experiences, requested we go back to Il Quadrifoglio two nights in a row.
On the last full day in Polignano, after the mandatory morning swim, we drove to Matera. Curved out of the flanks of a steep ravine, it is one of the oldest continuously living cities in the world. During the last century, it swung back from an isolated, poverty ridden slum to the gem it deserves to be.
