A street was blockaded with two stalls, with even tourists turned away, amid scenes of anger. This was the protest mounted this morning by the traditional pasta makers of old Bari on Via Arco Basso. The protest comes a day after the municipal police confiscated 151 kilos of merchandise from their market stalls.
The seized goods, which included sweet and savory taralli biscuits, orecchiette pasta, and sun-dried tomatoes, were taken because they were being sold without authorization, as the products were not deemed to be handmade artisan goods. The stalls used to display the food products were also confiscated. Three of the vendors inspected were fined for unauthorized commercial activity and illegal occupation of public land.
Following the lively demonstration, a delegation of the pasta makers was received at City Hall. “We reiterated to the pastaie of old Bari what they already know well,” explained Pietro Petruzzelli, the city councilor for Local Development. He stated that the city wants to “protect the tradition of fresh orecchiette,” which is why they are “free to display their pasta boards for fresh orecchiette or to demonstratively prepare the pasta themselves. What they cannot do, unless they have a sales permit, is sell or display industrially produced orecchiette. Some have the authorization, others are in the process of regularizing their situation.”
Carla Palone, councilor for Urban Livability with responsibility for the Bari Municipal Police, added, “The local police are working to enforce the law; therefore, non-artisanal products linked to commerce cannot be sold in public areas without authorization.” She explained that since “the authorization was not present, the seizure was carried out, just as we do in city markets and as we verify in the catering sector for product traceability. We have done the same with the pastaie, who for us are an important image of the city.”
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