Altamura is not just…bread

Altamura is a very nice town located in an Apulian area named Murgia, on the top of a hill.

It is very much close to Basilicata.

People from Altamura are hard workers.

Tommaso Fiore was born in Altamura. He was a writer and an antifascist politician. In 1952, he wrote a book named un popolo di formiche (people like ants).

In his book, Tommaso Fiore pointed out the strenght and obstinacy of people from Murgia, who live in a difficult, if not hostile, environment.

Altamura has known almost two decades (1980-2000) of full employment due to the distretto del salotto (the sofa manifacturing district).

Nowdays, Altamura is reinventing itself.

This is the Italian capital of bread. 

However, the entire set of bakery products here is superb. 

The story of a McDonald which shut down because of a local focacceria (pizzeria), represents a case history of resistence to the homogenisation. The story inspired the docufiction Focaccia Blues.

While walking along C.so Federico II, which is the main street, I come accross few lads handling a steadycam.

The guy with moustache is a local photographer who is testing this innovative steadycam.

It is innovative because it is an automatic control steadycam.

The two guys who invented it are two young engineers both from Apulia. They would like to patent their creation (www.icecam.it)

The inner city of Altamura is cluttered with claustri, which are streets with dead-end.

If you go to Altamura, I strongly recommend you to visit the National Museum of Altamura. 

the museum hosts a permanent exhibition, rich of interesting artefacts.

Probably the most curious one which I have seen is a phallic idol of 3^rd millenium BC.

I am starving now, so I am going to end up my journey here not before having eaten a tasty focaccia.

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Buon appetito

The nature reserve of Torre Guaceto

Torre Guaceto is a symbol of the environmental cause.

It is a nature reserve since the 1981.

Torre Guaceto is place which includes a wetland, a mediterranean scrub, an archeological area and more, much more.

It is a pleasure go to the beach there. It is like to be in a natural resort. 

There is plenty of space. The sea is marvellous, clean and transparent.

While swimming, you will notice fishes gathering underneath you.

Torre Guaceto has Mediterranean scrub all over the place. Therefore, the air is fresh and balsamic.

I have realized that most of people who visit Torre Guaceto come either from the north of Italy or abroad. 

Therefore, this is a place where people come on purpose.

Parking there costs 5 euros. The cost of the ticket covers the shuttle service though.

2 miles far from the parking area there is a tower, used over the past centuries to patrol the costs.

The Apulian cost counts dozens of towers like this, which at the time were connected each other, like the current satellites.

The Saracens have been a threat for centuries in Apulia. The echo of their raids still occurs in our spoken language. We say: “Mamma li turchi!”

Torre Guaceto is ideal for nudists. I can confirm it.

Torre Guaceto has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Ruins and signs of past civilizations are spread around the entire area.

A tomato (“pomodoro fiaschetto”) typical of Torre Guaceto was almost disappeared. 

However Slow food advises that a peasant there has re-introduced this kind tomato, preserving in this way the biodiversity.

The "pomodoro fiaschetto" recalls me a motto said in my hometown: Pen e pommdor, mett sang e color. In English could be translated by saying: bread with tomatoes is a very healthy food.

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Once upon a time Torre Santa Sabina...

This time, me and Lucia go to visit Torre Santa Sabina, a village by the sea, a couple of miles far from Carovigno.

Walter and Ryan, two friends of us, invite us to go to the beach there.

The coast alternates a mix of rocks and sand. It offers several places where to sunbath and swim.

The sea is just limpid and clean.

Walter knows very well this place. Therefore, he leads us to view what originally was supposed to be a small port used since the Bronze age.



The potholes in the bedrock are still visible. Filled by wooden poles, they were used to moor ships.





Torre Santa Sabina was the dock of Carbina Messapica (the actual Carovigno) since the 7th century BC






Archeological researches have been resumed in 2009 to investigate further on shipwrecks of different ages.
The shipwrecks lies at just three metres on the bottom of the sea.

The historical richness of this place includes something else, pretty unique, I would say.

That is the tower, from which the village takes its name.

Tower "a cappello di prete" (priest hat).

With a star shape, it has its edges oriented towards the cardinal points.

This tower is one of dozens built up along the Apulian coast during the 15th and 16th century.

The purpose was to defend the coasts from the Saracens' attacks.




In the evening, we all go for a relaxing walk.

Lots of people are around.

kids play football on the beach.

The old people are sat down, looking at them remembering the green years.