When it happened exactly, and how, nobody can say. What is certain is that in the short space of a few years, Trani the beautiful, sinuous, opulent, elegant lady of Puglia, Trani swollen with air and light like no other, has also acquired the right to greedy capital of the region.
From Salento to Gargano, passing through Murgia and Valle d'Itria, there is no place that can contend the title by concentration and number of signs that even by themselves would be worth the trip. Not even Ceglie Messapica, it was already a land of gastronomy where they resist a few granitic certainties. Trani today unites and empires, showing off an articulated mosaic of deluxe addresses – where is it luxury is worth for taste, condensing two deadly sins in one – fragments of tables that speak a melting pot of languages, that of haute cuisine but also the true dialect of the traditional seafood cuisine, that of street food, of the cutting board but also of the signature cocktail . From the fine dining at the most pop, but with a push out of the ordinary on the good, better if healthy and just. Whether the kitchen resides in majestic architectures perched on the sea or in the urban backwaters where only the smell of the sea remains in the atmosphere and in the dish.

Bella, she was beautiful even before. With the austere Romanesque cathedral above the sea, the sinuous monument of the harbor loop in which the dock welcomes both the shining yachts and the tiny blue-dyed fishing boats with a romantic theory of women's names. They call her pearl, this city, with the silhouette of the Cristoforo Colombo promenade that stretches like a female body with generous curves, intriguing from side to side. And the dazzling light, in winter and in summer, reflected from the sea mirror and the whiteness of the stone that takes its name from the city, returning coins of sonorous fame. On the wide volutes of the coast, the grandiose structure of the cathedral, the bell tower that rises a little less than 60 meters high, watches over the palace of justice and the Swabian castle with a square plan where the puer apulie left traces of his devotion to beauty even before Christian worship. If Constantine was emperor of the two worlds, Frederick II was able to build the empire of the religious pax, granting to the Jewish people living in Trani a tribute of political architecture, like the four synagogues dedicated to the Jewish cult built in the Giudecca district (an open district within the walls of the old city, composed of a complicated tangle of alleyways, not to be confused with the asphyxiation, even urbanistic exclusivity, of the ghetto).

Beautiful from the medieval age, in short, but good as none it became a turn of waltz perhaps due to the effect of the theory of broken windows, applied in reverse: from one good address, neither was born another and from this another and another, due to a beneficial emulation . A virtuous multiplication thanks to which Trani is today the best city of Puglia. Here is the merit of who, in no particular order.

1. The lamps at the fort

The table de The lights at the fort it is set in an amazing home: an ancient one Romanesque basilica to precipice on the sea, younger sister of the most famous cathedral opposite the other side of the gulf. A ruin for a long time gnawed by abandonment, polished to respect the original architecture by the patrons Antonio Del Curatolo and Easter Fiorella. Therefore converted to the most profane of pleasures. At the stove Domenico Di Tondo, Pugliese class 1988 raised under the wing of Fabio Pisani and Alessandro Negrini at the Place of Aimo and Nadia, and you hear. The young chef treats the matter with respect, manipulating the essential, letting the consistencies and perfumes express themselves in their original power. To speak is above all the sea, of course, and creativity measured with judgment, as it doesl Fusillone di Fara San Martino, curly pulp, Cantabrian anchovy, tarallo and mountain butter. A happy and perfectly successful gamble in the kingdom of olive oil.

2. Quintessence

Four brothers for a banner, four complementary talents lent to the same mission that together make one of the most elegant addresses of Puglia and one of the best-organized services nationwide, is not hyperbole. THE By Gennaro Bros the spaces here and there from the pass are divided: Domenico and Saverio, the bishops of the hall, maître and sommelier otherwise full of grace, Stefano the executive in the front line divides the stove with the minor of the house, Alessandro the pastry chef. Garbo is measure, zero excesses. At most a quid of greedy intelligence that illuminates dishes like Fried red mullet, red onion, red turnip and prickly pear, or Ravioli stuffed with turnip tops, dipped in a broth from the slight and pungent bitterness that counterbalances the sweetness of the sea cicadas. Flavors of Puglia woven with contemporary lightness and beautiful intuitions: "From the Gargano to the Salento" or torcinello of lamb more shrimp red.

3. Memories

The chef, originally from Molfetta, is the one currently at home in the restaurant that bears his name on the fifth floor of street number 21 in Piazza Duomo in Milan. After years of wandering in the deep north Felice Lo Basso he realized the dream of opening his own brand in his homeland, dividing himself between the Milanese capital and the Memorie a Trani. The colonel in charge of the Apulian cookers is the sous chef Giuseppe Boccassini, in the room there is Antonio, the eldest of the Lo Basso brothers. Memories of course, it is more than a label. The flavors are distinctly Apulian, but baste by means of techniques mastered in the long apprenticeship in northern soil. In pole position one of the signature dishes, the Parmigiana in a risotto dedicated to mother Rosa, or i Spaghettoni with baked tomatoes, ricotta salata and cream of basil. Ruspante but kindly the Veal marretto with its entrails, vegetables with honey, mustard and parsley oil.

4. Rooster restaurant

Start with the Gallo restaurant the long list of restaurants that crowd the seafront, a fuss of signs that at 48/50 Via Statuti marittimi are a safe haven. Three elements of a long-oiled gear: the patron Alessandro Gallo he presides over the hall and a cellar equipped far beyond the autochthonous references, in the kitchen the chef Mario Musci he has been in charge of the same cookers for just under two decades, the sea completes the set with the association with the fishermen who dock with the fishing boats ten meters from the door of the restaurant. The overall atmosphere is refined and true: the royal plateaus of raw sea and the caught fresh on the grill. Among the must of the house theGiant orecchiette, hairy mussel, salicornia and yellow datterino or the Calamaro and Altamura bread panzanella.

5. Court in bloom

A Renaissance-style building that houses a garden, a space of contemporary lightness in the Giudecca district. Among shrubs, flowers and slatted walls, it is here that dwells Court in bloom. The charm of the place, the kitchen distinctly Mediterranean and the talent of the patron Michele Matera, animal stuffed with hospitality in the blood, make this table a sure reference for business man and business lunches as much as for couples looking for intimacy and romantic atmospheres. The rest does the declared complicity between the chef Alessio Di Micco and the host, the chef invents, tests and passes the patron who knows the tastes of the customers better than his own. A granitic understanding that has given life to dishes like the Half a pacchero, tomato fired cicadas and calamari, evolution of the Tomato fired in tranese, super-traditional recipe turned sharply towards the sea. Who can enjoy a pit stop in the deluxe rooms that bear the same name as the restaurant: beauties from a thousand and one nights.

6. Savì

For Savino senior, Nicola, the crêpe it was destiny. Examining farewell from the hotel, at a time when the mystery boxes were not topical, it was the proof that earned him the praise of Professor Angelo Consoli, legendary figure of pastry chef who has made school in many ways. The first of enne, sweet and savory, passed to the plate of Savì di Conversano that from 2017 has doubled in Trani. The same goes for another Savino, the young Daniele who learned his skills and rigor from his father, along with a sort of compulsive obsession with the search for ingredients. From Mother Nature Savino jr ​​received instead a gift of creativity that is all his own. And the crêpe-pancake lends itself, compliant and versatile, to superfarciture like mozzarella, semidry tomatoes, turnip tops, Menaica anchovies and fried pan. Or the Podolica, with buffalo mozzarella, cardoncelli, roasted cherry, roast beef of podolica cbt, truffle and wild rocket. A full of taste beyond all obviousness, at pop prices.

7. LuLa

Seven years at Enoteca Pinchiorri. And even before long pit stops at elBulli and Akelarre, in Spain. The pastry chef from Puglia of Trani born in 1985 has crossed the places of the myth, disrupting every common place on catering pastries (a chapter often painful rather than sweet, after all). Everywhere Luca Lacalamita he has put his own, moving quickly from the status of sorcerer's apprentice to sorcerer-head, virtuoso of leavened and chocolate. Until the time of maturity and a mad desire to plant a story of his own has been triggered. Lula – bread and dessert it is still a construction site with the stripped works between the walls, but the perspective is more than clear and the wait is over. In the 100-square-meter workshop near the railway station, the canonical spaces dedicated to production, the counter and a handful of seating for customers, but also a space dedicated to meeting with producers: farmers, beekeepers, breeders, millers, take shape. . For Lacalamita, returning home means focusing on the origins of men and products, in every sense. The inauguration? "Soon".

8. Scugniz – pizza and food

Napoletana that more Neapolitan can not, for dough, ingredients (from mozzarella to tomato, through flour and topping) and above all author. The last frontier of pizza made in Trani speaks Neapolitan, thanks to a son and nephew of art, Valerio Vuolo, pizzaiolo class 1988, that to dad Guglielmo and grandfather Enrico stole the trade. From the apprenticeship behind the desk to the chair of the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, Vuolo jr he refined an entertainer talent for the use and consumption of patrons sitting at tables facing the counter in sight. With the right hand he manipulates the dough with the agility of the prestidigitatore and with the left hand he gives to the anecdotes baked for the customers. So many stories and little talk: only fifteen pizzas in paper, the result of a slow leavening as required "in the morning for the evening and in the evening for the morning". With a quid that makes the difference from Scugniz: thedough is iposodic is highly digestible obtained with sea water biologically certified, the result of scientific advice Vincenzo Di Donna, founding member of Simcri (Italian Society of Regenerative Medicine and Surgery). Notwithstanding that: "pizza is good pizza maker", the rest is bored.

9. Wine workshop

For him, the kitchen is a refuge, the wings where he feels at ease, for her, the hall is an arena. To each his own, so the complementary talents of Gigi Di Feo and Samantha Mastrogiacomo they found a home at the Wine Workshop. The banner opened its doors on March 13, 2008 with the idea of ​​offering the public a delectable appetizer and some good dish where he talks about the raw material of everything else, the dream he realized that as a young boy saw materialize before his eyes Roscioli bottega-gioielleria of Rome, imagining to realize a twin in own. No sooner said than done. The Officina is the landing point of the trips of Gigi and Samantha, who spend their best time around Italy to look for food and wine treasures. So they arrived in via Giovanni Bovio, in no particular order: theegg by Paolo Parisi, the mortadella of Pasquini, the caciocavallo podolico of Colantuono, the carmasciano of Irpinia and other goodies for strong palates. Those who serve themselves at this table are not chopping boards for young ladies, but ultrastrong morsels with glasses set at the height. It so happens that Gigi and Samantha are also a pair of eno-maniacs, with particular regard to the bubbles (better if in magnum format) and a wide selection of natural labels. Their dog, it's not by chance, is called Movia.

10. Central bar

There Breakfast of weekdays, thegreedy aperitif of every day, and above all i sweets of the holidays commanded. There is no recurrence that passes without, on the table of Trani Trani, some sweetness appears signed Central Bar. The sign has been active since 1968, but since 85 it is owned by the Maresca-Calefato family. She, mother Vittoria, is the captain of the bank that deals with making ends meet, between cash and administration. The artist is he, the maître pâtissier Amedeo, a mustache garibaldino famous for a legendary millefeuille and for the one who baptized the Ricotta pearls, a cassata net of real pasta, with a filling that recalls that of Sicilian cannoli covered with a thin glaze of dark chocolate. The rest is an anthology of eggs at Easter, panettone at Christmas, pastry mignon even on weekdays and a corner to drive away the nostalgia: the cream paste of extra-large size, as it used to be. A mention of honor deserves the brioche with the group, that if you close your eyes you know of Sicily. A place for those who would make Willy Wonka happy, "open every day except Tuesday afternoons", says Lorenzo, son of Amedeo and Vittoria, who swears "An industrial biscuit in our house? Never seen".

11. Amores licoreria

Piazza Campo dei Longobardi, historical center, or former market square, that of fish. It is here, where the shouts of the street vendors still echo, that made the small temple of mixology that took its name from a bottle of author's mezcal in December 2018. But it implies love between Alessandra Tannoia (the fairy of the preserves and of stuzzicheria net of fireworks) e Raffaele Antonino, the bartender which has changed the pace of Tranese nightlife, tune it to slowness, low alcohol content and intriguing complexity in the glass. Aromatic herbs, spices, infusions and homemade juices prepared daily are the basis for drink, old fashion but also twist on classic as the Amaricano, which takes its name from the classicone more a bitter note given by the bitter rhubarb. Amber's favorite horses, Rosemary: cardamom, lemon grass, vanilla and rosemary, left to brew in gins at different times, plus black or green tea syrup, lemon juice and ginger beer tops. Or a South side to the gentleness with a distinctly mineral taste, terragno, a must of Amores that has banned the sad aperitif based on peanuts and industrial chips, to make room for indigenous snacks, bell pepper, beans and chickpeas made in Puglia .

12. Yeast 72

It is the Taliban of the slow leavening, the samurai of the sourdough, the warrior of the alveolatura comme the faut. That small number on the sign under the arcades at number 10 of Via Aldo Moro is a political manifesto, the number of a mission. In the personal cabala of Andrea Giordano, pizza chef of the 1985 class, 72 stands for the number of hours in which the dough is left to rise before taking the maw of the wood oven. Maniacal in the execution of the smallest gesture, meticulous to the obsession in the selection of raw materials, one for each genre: tomato (only Pugliese Paglione), one beer (Ericius di Campobasso), an oil (Coratina di Dentamaro), a flour (only Petra di Molino Quaglia). For bread instead, it gives substance to the research on ancient grains, which is valid for future grains. In paper no first two sweet appetizers, only pizzas, eleven. The most requested? La Parmense (base peeled tomato, at the end of the stracciatella from the province of Arezzo and freshly sliced ​​ham for 24 months with a shining Berkel). Margherita, Four cheeses, Diavola, always in paper. The others alternate according to the seasons. A warning at the bottom of the menu: "the covert is not paid, but the bitter does not offer".

13. The quay

In July, this tavern will be 22 years old by a whisker from the sea, serving small meals to be eaten quickly but also long tastings of fresh fish and dishes of the most traditional Apulian tradition. THE'atmosphere is domestic, hospitality and warmth like home, the result of a partnership that has lasted for more than twenty years between two families: that of the patron-host Vincenzo Perna and that of the kitchen and dining staff, coming from Albania. "Trashi Genci, the chef, came from the Land of Eagles who was 21 years old and started as a dishwasher. In Italy he had landed as a clandestine in search of fortune. The cook at the time suddenly gave up his job, he offered to take his place. He has given substance to the spirit of sacrifice and to a surprising talent, and with him slowly more or less relatives have arrived, I and the Wharf have welcomed them all. For a while now, we are one family ". Trashi has unveiled a magician of pasta dishes, proposed as in the weekly homemade menu of long Apulian tradition: Rice potatoes and mussels on Monday, Tuesday Orecchiette and turnip greens, Wednesday is the day of the Zfish uppa and so on. The remaining doubt is on the source of the indigenous recipe book: "Easy. Trashi has learned from my mother Luisa ", smiles the patron. The rest is fresh sea fish, no imports and no breeding. And if there is bad weather and the paranze arrive discharged, well, patience, with a spaghetti mussels always remedied.