Polignano a Mare, 5/11/2016

Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

We are in the tenth day of our voyage.  We are driving around in a black Fiat Cinquecento. The pope, on his recent American tour, abandoned his high security pope-mobile and drove in the same Fiat car.  His model was tiny. When he got into and out of it in his long white robe it looked like an act from the circus. Our model is the hatchback, a little larger than his, but still compact enough to get through the narrow, crooked, cobblestone village streets.

By now, the car is dust covered. All cars here in southern-most Italy are dust covered. The sand blows over from the north African deserts. With their finger, someone wrote on our window, "lavami".  

We have had great weather. It has been mostly sunny, but cool inland and sunny and hot at the shore. Imagine the shape of Italy. It is described as a boot. Imagine the boot has a particularly high heel. That heel is the Salatine peninsula. It has water on three sides. On the east coast is the Adriatic Sea. On the west coast is the Ionian Sea. Throughout the length of the peninsula the distance between the seas averages about twenty miles. In our car, we have zig-zagged north, south, east and west. Here is what we found. 

Polignano a Mare

On the east coast, the town, though on the water, is raised above it; somewhat of a mesa with the shore at the foot of steep cliffs. The water roils and churns. It slaps the cliffs with the force of a battering ram. Over the past several thousand years, it has eroded the cliffs into grottoes.

One particular grotto, a natural cathedral, both tall and wide, is the site of a restaurant. There is a stone shelf which spans the grotto walls. One side of the shelf opens to the sea, the other opens into a cavern. The ristorante sits upon the shelf. The shelf has two sides, each one with a guard rail. One faces the ocean. The other faces an underground cavern. The shelf is elegant. It has wood floors. It's tables are handsomely dressed. So are it's waiters. On the ocean side, the water is the color of gemstones: emerald and aquamarine.  On the cavern side, the water is less active and a spot of daylight indicates another grotto opening to the sea. The menu is expensive. It reflects the unique location. The food was excellent, but the dramatic setting is a scene stealing show stopper. Wes had Salmon Tataki: a rectangle of salmon, smoked till it's exterior was savory and smooth. It's interior was perfectly cooked. I had calamari which jumped from the sea, into a sauté pan and onto my plate atop a bed of pureed black chickpeas. 

Polignano a Mare is ground zero for the fans of Domenico Modugno. He was born there. The town erected a monument in his honor. With his arms outstretched, he stands in the fierce wind above the shore. His eyes closed, he imagines the wind will fill his arms with thrust and take him high above the sun. His hands and face will become blue like the sky. Volare ... Oh oh ... Cantare ... O ho ho ho ... Nel blu, dipinto di blu. Felice di stare lassu. And which precocious—edging toward obnoxious—American was breaking into song showing off his Italian lyrics? It was I. I, who have never ever sang before, have become the crazy, singing, American fool. 

Our thirty-second anniversary occurred during this trip. It was a happy anniversary in Polignano a Mare. The sea, it's color, the wind, it's force, the grotto, it's vista, and the celebration. Years from now we will feel, "it seems like only yesterday". 

Wes and Marlow

Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy

Wednesday, May 11, 2016