A proverb states: bread is the staff of life. In Bari, substitute focaccia for bread. There, life swirls around focaccia. It’s created and seasoned with local products. The scent of herbs, tomato and yeasted bread wafts out onto nearly every street from a focacceria or panificio (bakery). The baresi eat it daily. It’s versatile, eaten as a snack, quick lunch, enjoyed with an evening aperitivo or in place of pasta at dinner.

Giovanni Di Serio, fourth generation baker and owner of Bari’s La Pupetta focacceria, is also head of the Consorzio della Focaccia Barese, a network of individuals who seek to promote the status of focaccia barese in Europe with an IGP label (Indicazione Geografica Protetta). If obtained, the prestigious designation will mark this not-quite-a-pizza as a traditional dish of the Bari area, making it an official pugliese treasure.