Pasta-making grandmothers in the Italian city of Bari have staged angry protests this weekend after being accused of passing off factory products as handmade delicacies.
Famous for the ‘orecchiette’ or ‘little ears’ they sell, a type of pasta traditionally molded by hand, an army of women line the streets of the old town, preparing food while tourists watch.
The city has seen a tourism boom thanks to via dell’Arco Basso, known as ‘orecchiette alley’, where pasta is made in people’s kitchens, dried and displayed on wooden trays outside their homes. .
But the tables where local nonnas usually work the dough and sell their products were empty on Saturday, and production stopped as part of a joint “revolt” against criticism of their practices.
Italian news site Quinto Potere has led a campaign against what it calls orecchiette “fraud”, claiming that the mass-produced pasta is sold alongside artisanal food to unsuspecting visitors.
Dramatic scenes even showed angry pasta makers and their families confronting a journalist who confronted an elderly woman over what he claimed was industrial pasta, and the altercation turned physical as locals passionately defended their products.
The journalist Antonio Loconte has set out to expose bad practices, going to the stalls and identifying bags of pasta that, according to him, are made in a factory.
Nunzia Caputo (center) was one of the pasta makers who refused to make and sell their products this weekend.
The stalls were empty this weekend when pasta makers staged a protest.
Reporter Antonio Loconte was approached by neighbors who tried to physically push him out of the street.
Food bloggers and tourists have also shared their dismay at being sold what they said was pale, dry industrial pasta, while others have expressed concern about hygiene in women’s kitchens.
The ‘pastaie’ have called the claims “nonsense” and have called on local authorities to intervene to help preserve their tradition and protect legitimate vendors from attacks.
At the forefront of the protests is Nunzia Caputo, a social media star with tens of thousands of followers who has become the face of the city’s pasta makers.
Caputo met the Pope at the Vatican last week and gave him a package of orecchiette, a fitting gift after the Pontiff recently wrote that AI would never replace “the fork (used) to seal the edges of those panzerotti made in Italy.” house with our mothers or grandmothers’.
Speaking to the Italian news agency ANSA, he insisted: ‘There is no fraud, they are artisanal dried orecchiette, they are all handmade but we have to dry them for hygiene reasons.
‘Tourists take them to Paris, to America, and they need them to be very dry (…) so that they do not get damaged during transport.’
Journalist Antonio Loconte has set out to expose what, according to him, is bad practice on the part of some vendors, going to the stalls and identifying bags of pasta as factory-made.
‘In recent weeks I have found boxes of factory orecchiette in the rubbish bins. “It all started from there,” he told MailOnline.
“So when I got to the area, the ladies first hid and then came out, they were ready to fight.”
“The ladies unpack the factory-made orecchiette and put them in bags to sell them as if they were handmade.”
Loconte shakes a box at a pasta seller, stating that his products are mass produced and not at home.
A woman left the house behind the stall and came to the defense of her elderly relative
In dramatic footage of the confrontation, a woman emerged from the house behind the stall and came to the defense of her elderly relative, telling the journalist: ‘Our children are unemployed, we have to feed them!’
Loconte challenged an elderly pasta seller at her stall with a box from which he said the product came, and was greeted with fury by her neighbors and family.
He was then approached by other locals who attempted to physically push him off the street while bewildered tourists watched the commotion unfold.
The journalist from Apulia affirms that he has been working for six years to denounce this practice and that he continues the “fight” for his “love” for pasta makers and local tradition.
‘There are two problems here: the ladies fake handmade orecchiette. And then they evade taxes and (hygiene, awareness of the dangers) is non-existent.
“In addition, the stalls were initially created to sell orecchiette, but lately other products such as cookies, baked goods and drinks are also sold.”
He added that the problem has worsened due to the promotion of the town and its tradition on social networks.
‘The ladies were overwhelmed. Tourists flocked to the city to visit it and take selfies and reels with these women,” he said.
‘As a gesture of goodwill, they bought orecchiette, but often did not care whether they were handmade or factory-made. “This created a problem for other consumers.”
Bewildered tourists were met with angry protests this weekend, and pasta makers refused to work.
The ‘pastaie’ call the claims “nonsense” and have asked local authorities to intervene
Caputo and other pasta makers stood by their stalls this weekend denouncing the criticism that news and social media posts have attracted as “unfair,” defending their tradition and the provenance of their food.
Addressing the Bari authorities, the 61-year-old asked: “What should we do, abandon this work, this long tradition?”
“Give us instructions, we are willing to receive them because we want to work peacefully.”
Lilla Simone, another pasta maker and director of Il Club delle Orecchiette in nearby Altamura, also supports introducing stricter standards to ensure authenticity and protect the industry.
“What has happened there has undermined our work and our reputation,” he reportedly said.
‘Orecchiette’ or ‘little ears’ are a type of pasta traditionally shaped by hand
Loconte said dishonest pasta sellers “felt justified by the previous municipal assembly, which never did anything to control the trade.”
‘I think that creating regulation can benefit women and also tourists, consumers will be sure of the food they buy,’ he said.
The Bari council has said it is currently studying the possibility of introducing regulations to ensure products are made traditionally while protecting pasta makers.
“We are examining a series of regulations in this regard, to try to find a way that involves everyone, including operators,” said councilor Pietro Petruzzelli, adding that it is crucial that tourists can trust the products they buy.
Bari Mayor Vito Leccese has urged pasta sellers to be honest and responsible with the products they sell, for the sake of the city’s reputation.
“Authenticity is what has given Bari an extraordinary appeal,” he said. ‘We are not a cultural mecca like Florence or Rome. It is the traditional activity in the historic center that gives this place its appeal.’