The bronze statue of Domenico Modugno stands with arms open near the seafront, saluting the singer-songwriter born in Polignano. Modugno is best known internationally for "Nel blu, dipinto di blu", better known by its refrain, "Volare".
The statue could have been kitsch, but the location saves it. Walk behind it to the terraces and steps above the cliffs, where the song’s blue-sky optimism suddenly feels less like nostalgia and more like geography.