• MOLFETTA
• RUVO DI PUGLIA
• BITONTO
• NOICATTARO
• VALENZANO

AMONG OLIVE GROVES, DRY STONE WALLS AND DISTANT HISTORIES

A tour among olive groves, vineyards, almond trees and old farms, passing from the Adriatic coast to the man-made countryside, where dry stone walls replace hedges, to the gentle slopes of the Murgia hinterland where the 'pagliari' stand out in their picturesque simplicity in a landscape of green depressions.

The valuable statue groups of MOLFETTA, RUVO DI PUGLIA, VALENZANO and BITONTO, the 'crucifers' of NOICATTARO for an itinerary full of pathos.

With the splendid Cathedral of San Corrado overlooking the harbour, a masterpiece of Apulian-Romanesque style, MOLFETTA boasts an important seafaring tradition evident in the typical fish market a few steps from the harbour and in the fish dishes of Molfetta cuisine, first and foremost the typical 'calzaon', focaccia stuffed with onions, sprouts and cod, a delicacy that will win you over.

Molfetta is also famous for the beauty and charm of its unparalleled statues.

On Good Friday, the procession of the Five Mysteries takes place: at three o'clock in the morning, a crowd gathers in front of the church of Santo Stefano to watch the simulacra of Christ leave a village lit only by the torches of the brethren.

On Holy Saturday, it is the turn of the Procession of the 'Pieta': the statues are carried by the confraternities wearing cloaks that recall the colours of spring. Closing the procession, carried by the Arciconfraternita della Morte dal Sacco Nero (Archconfraternity of Death from the Black Sack), is the priceless statue of the Pietà, the Virgin carrying the dead Christ.

The statues were made of papier-mâché by the Molfettese sculptor Giulio Cozzoli and accompanied by the characteristic funeral marches performed by the local band.

Moving inland among expanses of olive trees and fields in bloom, we arrive at RUVO DI PUGLIA. The Procession of the 'Eight Saints' represents one of the most topical moments. Made in the early 1900s by a Lecce papier-mâché artist, the group of statues moves from the Church of San Rocco on the night of Holy Thursday.

The procession of the Mysteries and the Pietà complete the programme of Rufa's processional events, while Easter Sunday sees the procession of the Risen Christ and the explosion of the 'quarantane', puppets installed during Lent to represent the victory of life over death. Ruvese peasant culture is reflected in the gastronomy with typical products from the Murgia plateau, including cardoncelli mushrooms, cheese, wine and tasty meat dishes such as 'cutturìdde'.

Nestled between the Alta Murgia and the Adriatic Sea, BITONTO is known as the 'City of oil', of excellent quality and unique taste, such as the focaccia baked in ancient wood-fired ovens or the tasty 'bocconotti'. The majestic Cathedral is the setting for Easter events such as the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows on Good Friday, with the statue surrounded by more than a hundred candles.

Good Friday is a continuous succession, from the first light of dawn and throughout the day, of processional events: first the procession of the Mysteries with the moments of the Passion of Christ, then the Solemn Procession in the late afternoon with the 'Holy Wood', the 'Floral Trophy', a 17th-century copy of the 'Holy Shroud' and the 'Dead Christ' that close Holy Week in Bitonto.

Fire is the element that opens the Nojana Seventh: on Maundy Thursday in NOICATTARO, on the parvis of the church of the Madonna della lama, dry logs deposited by citizens during Lent are burnt as a propitiatory rite for the harvest, while calzones stuffed with onions and wild herbs and the typical red eggs are prepared.

However, it is the rituality linked to the figures of the 'crucifiers' that characterises Nojana Holy Week: men dressed in a black habit, without a face because it is covered by the hood and the crown of thorns, go through the city barefoot and dragging a heavy cross that they place at the entrance of the churches in order to scourge themselves with the chains they wear tied to their ankles; their penitential path of atonement is followed by crowds of believers, torches and trozzue (frogs) dragged by children.

Descending towards the coast of Bari, we meet VALENZANO, the first step of the Bari Murgia, where the multiplicity of statue groups - representing some moments of the Passion of Christ - gives life to an unrepeatable Holy Week.

To date, there are almost fifty statues owned directly by the families who provide for their decoration and then take part in the great Good Friday procession: starting from their homes and accompanied by relatives dressed in their best clothes and a small band that intones funeral marches, they arrive in the main square of the town for the gathering of the Sacred Mysteries and continue in procession through the streets of the centre. A moment of great community participation.

photo by Antonio D'Agostino, Enzo Paparella, Gaetano Armenio