APULICA / FRESH PASTA, BREAD AND PASTRY
Strazzata of Avigliano
PAT · Slow Food Presidium · Fresh pasta, bread and pastry · Basilicata
In brief
- A ring-shaped, straw-yellow focaccia of durum and soft wheat flour with sourdough and plenty of coarse black pepper, made in Avigliano, province of Potenza. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano)
- It was the bread of peasant weddings, served filled with ham, podolico provolone or pecorino during visits to the bride's and groom's homes. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano)
- The heavy pepper invited drinking sweet wine from Acerenza or Maschito, poured from cherry-wood flasks. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano)
- Some bakeries have returned to old wheat flours such as Senatore Cappelli, carosella and risciola, with support from the regional agency Alsia. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano)
History and origin
Strazzata is tied to one of the most important rites of peasant life in Avigliano, in the province of Potenza: the wedding. When weddings were celebrated over two days, this focaccia was served on the Saturday, one of the most eagerly awaited foods because it was made only for that occasion, together with the festive sweets, funucchiett and m'stazzuol.
In mid-morning, during the first round of cumplimient, the visits to the bride's home, the strazzata arrived filled and laid in wicker baskets; straight after, young couples served sweet wine. The ritual was repeated at lunchtime at the groom's home, to repay the bride's guests generously.
It was also a contest between families: large focacce, lavishly filled and above all heavily peppered, had to show the new in-laws the standing of the household. Strazzata is listed among the traditional agri-food products of Basilicata, and the Slow Food Presidium was set up to defend its traditional ingredients.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)
Area and method of production
Durum and soft wheat flours, carefully sifted, are mixed with plenty of coarsely ground pepper, sourdough starter and warm water. The dough rests for about an hour before baking.
In the past only local wheats were used, and historical sources kept at the Provincial Library in Potenza name them: among the durum wheats saragolla, rossia, realforte, marzullo and grano riccio, among the soft ones carosella, grano bianco, cignarella and risciola. Today national varieties are used as well, but thanks to Alsia, the Lucanian agency for agricultural development and innovation, working with the Pantano di Pignola experimental farm, some bakeries have gone back to flours from old wheats such as durum Senatore Cappelli and soft carosella and risciola.
The Presidium, supported by Slow Food Basilicata and promoted by the local action group GAL Pecorsi, brings together Avigliano's bakeries and some organic growers who stone-grind traditional wheats. The risk to avoid is losing local flours and the use of sourdough.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano
How to recognise it
Strazzata is a ring-shaped focaccia, straw yellow in colour, recognisable at once by its ring shape.
Pepper is its hallmark: abundant and coarsely ground, it gives the dough a decided bite. At wedding feasts the amount of pepper set the intensity of the flavour and, in turn, how much would be drunk.
The other ingredients are few: durum and soft wheat flours, sourdough starter and warm water. The Presidium protects exactly these elements, because local wheat flours and natural leavening are the ones most at risk of being lost.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano
In the kitchen
Strazzata is eaten filled. Tradition fills it with ham, provolone made from Podolica cow's milk and pecorino, alone or together. During wedding visits it arrived ready filled, served in wicker baskets, and families vied to fill it as generously as they could.
Wine comes with it. To soothe the bite of the pepper, sweet wine from Acerenza or Maschito was poured, drunk straight from small cherry-wood flasks kept cool in buckets of well or spring water.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano
Where to taste it
Strazzata is found in Avigliano, in the province of Potenza, the only municipality in the Presidium area, where some bakeries still make it. By tradition it is the wedding bread.
Avigliano also celebrates its other products: the regional tourism agency of Basilicata points to the Sagra del Baccalà e dei prodotti tipici, three days devoted to the flavours of Avigliano with a route through the town centre among traditional and new salt cod recipes.
Visitors to Potenza and its area can reach Avigliano to taste a filled strazzata, perhaps with baccalà all'aviglianese, one of the typical Lucanian recipes.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano · APT Basilicata — Le collezioni 2018, Basilicata enogastronomica
Protection
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Basilicata, n. 160, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
- Slow Food Presidium — strazzata-di-avigliano (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Strazzata di Avigliano)
When
- The sources consulted give no months.