Altamura

Altamura [ˌaltaˈmuːra] is a city and comune of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of a hill of the Murge plateau in the province of Bari, 45 kilometres (28 miles) South-West of Bari, close to the border with Basilicata. As of 2011 its population was of 70,288.

The city is known for its particular quality of bread called Pane di Altamura, which is sold in numerous other Italian cities. According to the Latin poet Horace: "...for water is sold here, though the worst in the world; but their bread is exceeding fine, inasmuch that the weary traveler is used to carry it willingly on his shoulders."

The 130,000-year-old calcified Altamura Man was discovered in the nearby limestone cave, called grotta di Lamalunga.

History

The area of modern Altamura was densely settled in the Bronze Age (La Croce settlement and necropolis).

The ancient city was known as Altilia, from Alter Ilium, the "other Troy". According to a legend, it was indeed founded by a friend of Aeneas, Antellus, also a fugitive from the Asian city destroyed by the Greeks. Another legend attributes the foundation to Althea, queen of the Myrmidons.

Pane di Altamura

Pane di Altamura is a type of bread made from durum flour from the Altamura area of the Provincia di Bari, in the South East of Italy.

In 2003 Pane di Altamura was granted PDO status within Europe.

By law, it must produced according to a range of strict conditions, including using particular varieties of wheat, a certain specification of water, and a consistent production method, and must also have a final crust more than 3mm thick. However, the shape of the bread is not important.

Official production zone consists of the Comuni of:

References