SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Bari, Italy.
Where the footprints of an endless procession of conquerors meet the sun, the sea and the wind. Where art, architecture and food are bequeathed traditions that make the city renowned worldwide.
This is the story of a controversy between what is lawful and what is not, the story of a few naive Italian grannies who from their narrow alleys have carried out a brand-new Italian job, but with pasta.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Antonio Decaro is my first guest. He is the Mayor of Bari and the president of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.
MAYOR ANTONIO DECARO: Orecchiette pasta is part of our local heritage and one of the reasons why my city is often honoured.
Even now, this type of pasta is made by grannies in their little homes of the Old area of the city the original way. It’s something utterly different from what you might find in supermarkets or delis, that is rather factory-produced.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: And indeed, this local product and these special pasta-making nanas are authentic ambassadors of Apulia region all over the world.
ANNA PURICELLA: Surely, these grannies have been one of the most luring features of the city’s touristic promotion.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Anna Puricella is my second guest. She is a journalist for the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, who reported on this story.
ANNA PURICELLA: In those alleys, literally everybody stopped by. International VIPs, politicians and not just politicians. Luxury fashion brands, such as Dolce and Gabbana, have met those women to turn them into the protagonists of their photo shoots.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: So, these women have become true national television legends and with a huge success have started selling pasta and opening their own restaurants in the kitchens and living rooms of their little homes, totally unaware of the food safety norms they would need to adhere to. But what happened when the illegitimacy behind orecchiette got unearthed?
ANNA PURICELLA: In November 2019, something shocked the whole city.
State police ordered the seizure of a bag of 3 kilos of homemade orecchiette pasta, found in a prominent restaurant in the city centre and used for some of the dishes on the menu, as they did not comply with traceability laws. As a result, officers had to confiscate and destroy them.
It was almost an attack carried out on the deepest tradition of local cuisine.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Now, the question is quite obvious: why did this happen? Well in Italy, you know, we love food and we do care about its safety. So, it’s critical to know where all the ingredients come from. But, these laws apply to everyone, and they make no difference between big pasta factories and a few grannies demanded to reconfigure their kitchens to turn them into industrial laboratories.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: A month later, the story was viral. The New York Times published a piece that ended up on the front page. So, I asked Mayor Decaro what his reaction was when he read the paper that morning.
MAYOR ANTONIO DECARO: Well, I laughed. Reading an article on the front page of The New York Times about the city I’ve been representing for almost 7 years and a few grannies committing such a crime let me think that if making and selling pasta was the most troubling offense, this city must have made a huge progress in comparison to 1990s, when international consuls even discouraged tourists from visiting the old city.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Everyone was talking about orecchiette pasta yet the crime these women had committed was still a crime, so here’s when Apulia region realized that something had to be done and in fact, new guidelines were issued but, after two years, was that enough?
MAYOR ANTONIO DECARO: No, not at all. The region has just clarified what it takes to respect these norms, but they are still too complicated as they ultimately recall the international legislation. I am worried to say that if a specific decision will not be taken directly at a national or European level, all the local products we are so proud of will be jeopardized.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Rules apart, however, only another thing may endanger the future of orecchiette, which is time, because grannies are not young anymore.
ANNA PURICELLA: The tradition is definitely at stake, like many of the grannies complain. But even one child could make the difference and they can pass this tradition down into the future generations.
SIMONE PELLEGRINO: Meanwhile, if you come to Bari, some very dodgy criminals will welcome you. No pickpocketing, no shootings; only loads of dishes of unlawful pasta.