"Molfetta" Molfetta by nicolettart

Molfetta Travel Guide: 9 reviews and 34 photos

Molfetta is a small town in Puglia, Italy, in the province of Bari. When most people ask me, I feel I need to give a geographic location. So I say I'm from the heel. I can trace my heritage to this port town, where my ancestors were fishermen or in some way connected to the sea.

Basic Map of Italy

Molfetta is a coastal town located in the center of the heel in Puglia, on the Adriatic Sea. The surrounding towns are Bisceglie, Giovinazzo, and Terlizzi.

Due to its geographic location, Puglia was a high traffic area in ancient times!! The Greeks, Romans, Ostrogoths, Byzantine, Saracens, Normans, Swabians, French, Spaniards and others landed on the coast of Puglia. Now you wonder about the complex dialect!

Molfettese Phrases

The following may not make sense to even the Italians, but here goes!

"Awand a cud!"
Prendilo! Guardalo!
(Get a load of that!)

"Ci capa fresch ca tin!"
Che testa fresca che hai!
(What cold head you have)

"Ci ta va da u mer a Viscieggie?"
Chi ti deve dare il mare a Bisceglie?
(who's gonna give the sea at Bisceglie?)

"ci bell vu pare....la cap ta va dlle"
"Se vuoi essere bella....devi avere mal di testa"
(If you want to be beautiful, you have to suffer!)

"Ci na me sciai, scimmenin,
ci sinon, nenzimme scene"
"Se ne dobbiamo andare, andiamoci,
se no, non c'e ne andiamo"
(If we're gonna go, let's go now, otherwise let's not go!)

"A scitt 'o sengh da 'nghenn!"
Devi espellere il sangue dalla gola!
(You must throw blood by throat! Not a particularly nice thing to say to someone, though!)

"Emere alla vocche e dolce o coere!"
amaro alla bocca e dolce al cuore
(Sour in the mouth but sweet in the heart, refers to FOOD)

More to come!
(I don't know if I should say check back soon or beware!)

Largest Pugliese Communities in the USA
Hoboken, NJ
Brooklyn, NY
Port St. Lucie, FL

Intro Updated Apr 13, 2006
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Reviews (8)

Snails at Dusk Favorites (3)

I remember going to the beach at sundown, when the tide went out. My mother and I had buckets with us as we went into... more travel advice

Making and Mending Fishing Nets - Molfetta

Making and Mending Fishing Nets Local Customs (2)

A common sight in Molfetta, especially long ago. I would think that making fish nets by hand now is a lost art, as it... more travel advice

Padre Pio di Pietrelcina Favorites (3)

Padre Pio was a humble Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. He was blessed by God in many ways, but... more travel advice

Il Duomo Things to Do (2)

Molfetta has the grandest Romanesque church in Puglia built after 1150. It is distinguished by three domes and two... more travel advice

Restaurants (1)
Molfettese Regional Specialties

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Travelogues (2)

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Comments (25)

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tewks2 Aug 7, 2011 at 9:41 AM

My parents are from Molfetta. They spoke molfi to me, my sister and brother as we grew up in New Jersey. Learning the dialect is pretty useless when traveling around Italy but I just love the phrases. Here's one that I grew up with: Wenyo ci si fat.:
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rubbersoul75 Aug 14, 2006 at 4:39 AM

Intersting info on Pugliese in America- I like your quote. We're planing a trip to Puglia this fall and hope to stop by Molfetta- ci vediamo
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Basandro Aug 25, 2005 at 2:36 AM

Grande il dizionario Italiano-Biscegliese-Inglese. Ale
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gregoryr1m Oct 17, 2004 at 7:29 PM

Wow, I clicked on your HP and read about your realitives coming from Molfetta so I thought I'd see if you have been there. Wow how cool is that? Great page and tips. -Greg
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MolfieDownUnder Oct 1, 2004 at 1:13 AM

Hi Nicolettart! I'm Nancy from Perth, Western Australia. I'm new to this site and I just wanted to say I loved your webpage. Cheers :)
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iandsmith Jul 9, 2004 at 11:59 AM

Interesting insights, I must head down there next time. Perhaps I'll miss eating the snails though.
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shrimp56 May 13, 2004 at 5:39 AM

I'm with aussiedog:) What a wonderful "honetown" page -- thanks for sharing with us :)
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evona Apr 25, 2004 at 8:01 AM

Nice pics have you on your page :)
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dr.firas Apr 2, 2004 at 1:57 AM

Lovely Place! I would love to go there one day! Nice tips and photos Nicoletta! as sweet as you are the page is ;-))
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aussiedoug Feb 22, 2004 at 2:50 PM

"La passeggiata" I would enjoy, but the snails I'm not so certain about Nicoletta! Just love reading about these smaller places on VT. So good that you can keep in touch with your roots. Grazie mille for sharing!