A trip to the magnificent region of Puglia has been on my bucket list for years. I couldn’t wait to bathe in the crystal clear waters and walk along the white washed stone buildings with the sun on my face. A few weeks ago, this little dream of mine was realized and now I can safely say that I’ve been completely enchanted by this region.
On the bright morning of Primo Maggio, Italy’s version of Labour day, we headed to the train station at Santa Maria Novella to catch the Freccia train to Bari. The train ride was relatively quick considering it was about 5 hours long. I had made the intentional decision to not bring my laptop, so that I would be fully removed from work, but had at the same time also managed to leave my headphones at home. I didn’t realize what a blessing this would turn out to be as I spent the journey immersed in Irving Stone’s novel, The Agony and The Ecstasy, about the life of Michelangelo while the rolling Tuscan hills morphed into the Roman countryside and finally into the endless groves of Apulian olives with a hint of the Adriatic sea in the distance.
We finally arrived in Bari and immediately caught the next regional train headed down the coast to our final destination, Polignano a Mare. I had seen photos of this stunning little cliffside town and preferred its quieter location and rocky beaches to the bustling main city of Bari. The charm of Polignano enchanted us within seconds. On our walk from the train station to our Airbnb we passed beautiful pastel buildings with accented shutters and balconies overflowing with flowers.
Our Airbnb was located on a street parallel to Via Roma, just a 5 minute stroll to the stunning and small historical center of Polignano. Arriving on the first of May was slightly alarming since it’s a public holiday here in Italy, making it feel like everyone and their uncle was cramped into the streets of this tiny town. After a long day of sitting on a train, we were both exhausted and ready to dip our toes into the sea. We made our way to the famous cala of Lama Monachile and settled down on the rocky beach while around us swarmed fully dressed Italians indulging in their day off. The paraiba and emerald toned water glistening in the afternoon sun called to me, beckoning me to join it for a swim. After making my way through the small but crowded beach and carefully over the stones I plunged myself into the cold and refreshing sea.
While the shock of the cold water washed over me, so did the joy of my first swim of the season. The water was so clean, so pure that I was able to swim with my eyes open and not feel burned from the salt. My first two missions for the trip were now accomplished, to swim and to relax.
"Al Sapore Non Si Mente" - Pinocchio's Pizza
The next mission would be to eat as much delicious Pugliese food as I could manage.
As the sun began to slip away and signs of storm clouds began to roll into sight, we packed up and headed back to the Airbnb to get ready for dinner. The list of foods to try in Puglia is quite long, so we decided to keep it simple for the first night and headed to a well reviewed local pizzeria, Pinocchio, about a ten minute walk from our hotel. Although the ten minute walk felt eternal while we trekked through a sideways rainstorm and arrived at the pizzeria soaked to the bone. We dried off while eating some delicious pizzas inspired by the local flavors and joked about how the local dialect and accent made us seriously question our Italian comprehension abilities. I had ordered the “Al Sapore non si mente”, a white pizza with burrata (particularly good in Puglia) mortadella and pistachio creme, another local delight. Nick enjoyed the “Fantasia”, a red pizza with sausage, mushrooms, arugula and grana shavings on top. With full bellies and tired eyes, we made our way back to the airbnb, this time without battling the wind and rain as the storm had now moved on.
The following morning, fully rested and ready for some adventure, we headed out to explore the rocky cliffside grottos and beaches along the northern side of Polignano. We could feel that the May 1 crowds had cleared out and the city was much quieter. More of what I had expected. As we crossed the famous bridge, made our way through some construction and passed lots delectable looking food we found ourselves face to face with a larger than life bronze statue of Domenico Modugno, one of the writers and singers of the quintessential Italian song Volare (as its known by most folks). Behind his monument lays a grand but peculiar staircase as it leads out to a rocky cliff. But, not just any cliff, a cliff that provides incredible views of the buildings of Polignano clinging to the cliffside opposite and down into the shimmering clear waters. We decided to come back after we had swam and sunbathed to enjoy our lunch that afternoon.
Cala Paura
As we headed back up the staircase and continued along a path towards the north, each inlet, grotto and crashing wave grabbed our attention. We arrived at the beach at Cala Paura (translates to “Cove of Fear”), whose name I still don’t quite understand because fear is the last thing I was feeling while here. We decided that this small and less crowded area would be perfect for tanning and swimming, but first to explore the rocky cliffs’ crevices and niches. After our little excursion, we settled down on the rocky beach, slathered on our sunscreen and soaked up the sun. The day was a bit chillier than we’d anticipated but I was ready for another swim in the crystalline water. After about an hour swimming and pretending to be a mermaid, yes I still do this at 26, I convinced Nick to join me. As we swam in the cala we watched the boats come in and out taking people out for the day to enjoy the waters and to see the city from a different perspective. As we dried off and tried to relax the wind decided to pick up and the clouds began to hide the sun, signaling that it was time for lunch.
Da Luciano's
We headed to Da Luciano, a newly renovated and very chic eatery, where we ordered our first panzerotto, a freshly squeezed orange juice, an octopus panino for Nick and a salmon panino for me. We made our way back to the cliffs and chose a comfy spot where we could enjoy the view and eat comfortably. While munching away the notes and lyrics of Domenico Modugno’s Volare drifted up towards us intermingled with the sounds of crashing waves from the boats coming in and out of the inlet with their passengers.
If you’ve never heard of or tried panzerotti, you’re missing out. The food in Puglia was without a doubt delicious, but the fried simplicity of light dough, mozzarella and tomato is just so hard to beat. I could’ve eaten one of these fried delicacies for every meal if there weren’t so many other delicious things that needed to be tried on the trip. As I write this I’m dreaming of getting on the next train back to Bari just to get some more (and some fresh taralli too!)
La Rotellina
That evening as we got caught in a new rainstorm (they seemed to be insistent on making themselves known) we decided to brave the sideways rain and make a dash for La Rotellina, an eatery dedicated to panzerotti. This provided us the opportunity to compare the two restaurants, although one was just as good as the other. After having read about friselle, a type of Pugliese bread, in Italy Segreta’s article “Puglia is a Pane Paradise” I needed to try one and La Rotellina served up the perfect opportunity with a tuna, tomato, stracciatella and arugula bruschettone on a frisella followed by a juicy classic panzerotto. Two panzerotti in one day, not bad.
By the time we finished our meal the storm had passed and we enjoyed a nice evening strolling the ancient winding streets of the old town and following the stray cats to their feeding points. On our stroll we happened to pass Forno San Marco, a bakery where the locals were running in to grab their bread for the following morning. I noticed they had bags of scrumptious looking taralli on the shelves, so we hopped in and bought a bag to test them out. Now it was time to turn in and prepare ourselves for a new day of exploration in the town of Monopoli!
Un Abbraccio,
Aleksandra
