Apulica — Taste Travel Together

APULICA / Stories, people and traditions

Our roots: the family bakery in Giovinazzo

Apulica’s roots also lead back to a family bakery. This is my story: Giovinazzo, Molfetta, and the work of my grandparents and my father.

My grandfather Sebastiano and grandmother Marianna together in a family photograph.
My grandfather Sebastiano and grandmother Marianna. Family photograph.

Two towns, different family ties

Giovinazzo is my father’s hometown; Molfetta is my grandmother’s. These are two specific family ties that give the places a personal meaning for me. Before destinations and itineraries, there are the people in my family.

Family memories shared by Fabio Sebastiano.

My grandmother Marianna and grandfather Sebastiano when they were young, he in his Regia Marina (Royal Navy) uniform.
My grandmother Marianna and grandfather Sebastiano when they were young; he wears the Regia Marina cap. Family photograph.

Large families, a connection that continues

Both my grandfather and my grandmother had many brothers and sisters. The connection with bakeries continues in my grandmother’s family: a younger relative of hers still owns a bakery in Molfetta today. It is another thread in our family story, alongside my grandparents’ bakery in Giovinazzo.

Family memories shared by Fabio Sebastiano.

My grandparents’ bakery

My grandfather Sebastiano and my grandmother Marianna had a bakery in Giovinazzo. People brought their dishes there to be baked; my grandparents also made focaccia and other food. The bakery therefore played a part in preparing families’ meals, alongside the food my grandparents made themselves. That connection between their work and people’s tables is something I want to preserve in Apulica’s story.

Family memories shared by Fabio Sebastiano.

Three men in jackets sitting at an outdoor table in front of a stone wall; in the middle my grandfather Sebastiano pours from a bottle.
My grandfather Sebastiano, in the middle, at an outdoor table. Family photograph.

Deliveries by bicycle

My father made deliveries by bicycle, with the families’ baking trays on a wooden board balanced on his head. It was how bakers worked around here: in old Bari, Giuseppe Prudente, known as «Peppino uè op», delivered this way from the post-war years until 2002, sometimes with two boards stacked on top of each other. When I saw his photographs, published by Barinedita, I recognised my father’s method. The bicycle and the trays remain the most tangible image of the bond between the bakery and the families.

Family memories shared by Fabio Sebastiano. Sources: Barinedita — Bari, la storia di «Peppino uè op», il fornaio equilibrista (2020)

My grandfather Sebastiano in middle age, with his flat cap and pipe, sitting under a tree.
My grandfather Sebastiano with his flat cap and pipe. Family photograph.

A thread for your journey

This connection shapes our wish to discover places through the people who live there: a bakery, a kitchen, a producer, a story told first-hand. Giovinazzo and Molfetta are a personal starting point for this way of travelling.

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