Puglia… and the art of the “Panari”
Puglia preserves and boasts a wealth of traditions, including craftsmanship. Basket-making, using rush and olive wood, is particularly noteworthy.
It's common to stumble across handcrafted vessels being sold at fairs and markets; this is especially true in the lower Salento area.
These baskets, crafted by the skilled hands of expert artisans, are colloquially called panari, containers once used by Salento housewives to harvest olives, fruit, and vegetables. The Salento panari are a truly unique product, created many years ago to provide workers with a useful tool, but now they're just one of the many souvenirs from a holiday in Salento. Regarding the craftsmanship, this art is practiced by a small group of people, mostly elderly.
Salento and its heritage
However, it's noteworthy that panari have outlasted other artisanal products, and it's easy to find these vessels in a variety of shapes at the markets in Taviano, Botrugno, and Bagnolo. These areas are undoubtedly packed with artisan workshops, where you can observe the construction and crafting of panari using traditional weaving techniques.
Discovering Acquarica del Capo
The processing of reeds is a specialty of the small town of Acquarica del Capo in the lower Salento region. It's no coincidence that the inhabitants of this town are nicknamed "spurtari" (the "spurters"), due to their great craftsmanship. Reeds, “ palèddhu ” was collected in the Avetrana marshes, in the Ugento and Acaja area.
The creation of these artefacts was so significant for the town of Acquarica that in 2008 a Rush Museum was inaugurated in Piazza dell'Amicizia.
Salento, a wealth of raw materials...
The craftsmanship for making these famous vessels is unique to the Salento area, from the aforementioned Acquarica del Capo to Bagnolo, located near the Alimini Lakes in the province of Lecce. This is because the raw materials are more readily available in these areas, as is the case in the Gallipoli area, where the reed is worked by the skilled hands of fishermen.
Miggiano and the “te li Panari” festival
To underline the important role that Salento holds in the production of artisanal baskets, there is a real festival, called Sagra “te li panari” (a three-day festival dedicated to the Panari) which is held in Miggiano (Le), a stone's throw from the splendid and evocative marina of Tricase.
During the festival there are various stands containing baskets and panari of various sizes.
The Miggiano area is extremely important for the art of weaving and above all for the abundance of raw materials for making baskets, including olive, mastic, palm, rush, cane, asphodel, and straw, which in the hands of women and skilled craftsmen give life to the wonderful "panari."