Focaccia a Sfoglie from Turi

In Turi, focaccia is more than bread: it is memory, layered and revealed. Fecàzze a sfuègghie, with its oil-brushed layers and the aroma of a wood-fired oven, tells the story of an ancient tradition made of slow gestures, festive Sundays, and flavours that stand the test of time.

Fecàzze a sfuègghie is one of the most authentic expressions of Turi’s gastronomic tradition. Made with just a few essential ingredients and a patient process that creates thin layers of dough brushed with extra virgin olive oil, this folded focaccia was traditionally enriched with spicy tomato preserve (chenzèrve ascuànte) or with tomato and pepper preserve (chenzèrve scescète)—pantry staples that added depth and character to its flavour.

Today, it is almost forgotten, yet it remains a precious testament to local culture: tasting it means coming into contact with the truest soul of the territory, where food is not merely nourishment, but living memory.

Stone Faces Against Evil: the Apotropaic Masks of Turi

In Turi, around thirty apotropaic masks have survived—human faces carved into arches, doorways and windows, intended to protect against evil spirits and the evil eye. Created mainly between the 1910s and 1920s, they feature grotesque expressions designed to ward off misfortune. Today, many are deteriorated, yet they remain valuable witnesses to popular imagination and to the town’s historical identity.

TuriBorgoAntico

1 day ago2 min read

The Cross, where the town pauses and remembers

The Cross of Via Rutigliano in Turi is a large 19th-century votive shrine that for centuries marked the entrance to the town and the symbolic passage between the world of the living and that of the dead. Restored in 1994, and already rotated and repositioned in the 1930s, it preserves Neo-Gothic forms inspired by cathedral portals. Today, it represents the identity heart of the Rione della Croce and an urban landmark worthy of further enhancement.

TuriBorgoAntico

4 days ago3 min read