A public telephone is something that's hard to find anymore in Molfetta. Italians really took to the cellular phone with a gusto. Everyone has one...and I do mean everyone, from grade school children to octogenarians.
As a result, the public telephone became almost immediately obsolete. The few you can find around town are generally broken or looking pretty shabby, like the one in this photo. I don't think I'd want to use this means of communication without disinfecting it first!
Lucio doesn't really count as a "Molfettan" face since he was born and raised in Giovinazzo, the next town down the Adriatic coast. But, he is married to a Molfettan woman so that kind of makes him Molfettan by proxy.
Yesterday we celebrated my younger son's First Communion. This is the Roman Catholic ceremony for a person's first reception of the sacrament of the eucharist, which is generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest and eventual crucifixion. The consecration of bread and a cup within the rite recalls the moment at the Last Supper when Jesus gave his disciples bread, saying, "This is my body", and wine, saying, "This is my blood.
Children in Italy receive this sacrament in fourth grade. My son is the little guy in the blue suit. Most families then continue the celebration by offering friends and family a meal. Those invited bring gifts for the child (a definite perk as far as the kids are concerned!). 
Enormous fields of chamomile, with a scent so heady and sweet it reminded me of the poppy fields in the Wizard of Oz.
Lina is a member of my husband's family. She is not a blood relative, but she has been an integral part of the family for the past 45 years. She was the cleaning lady, but at her age and after a double bypass, she's not up to more than washing the dishes. And she only does that because otherwise she might feel like she wasn't being "useful."
Molfetta's official street market is held every week on Thursday morning. However, on Sundays various smaller markets pop up here and there around town, usually near the sea. While good finds can be made on a wide variety of items at the weekly market, these Sunday markets do not appeal to me because they tend to sell cheaply made things that break the first time you use them.
Many homes in Molfetta open directly onto the sidewalk, or even the street. These homes are usually a series of rooms that lead one into the other. To get from the front room to the back room you have to walk through the middle room. The first room you enter into is usually the kitchen.
This is a view of the cathedral (see yesterday's post) from the back, seen across Trani's harbour. Trani's harbour area is the site of a very active "movida," or nightlife. It is jam-packed with restaurants, bars, pubs, shops, etc. and hundreds of people go there in the evening to take a walk, have an ice-cream, see and be seen...
The Trani Cathedral (1150-1250) lies on the sea to the northwest of the harbor in Trani (two towns up the Adriatic coast from Molfetta). It is one of the finest Romanesque churches in Apulia and is famous throughout Italy. It is often used in television and print advertising.
Vito is a dentist who participated with his daughter in the Bimbinbici family bike ride last Sunday. He is framed by a view of the skyline of Molfetta's historic center. (You can see the rowboat featured in yesterday's photo in the background.)
This trio was selling roses on a street corner on Mother's Day. When I asked them if I could take their picture, the guy in the middle said, "yes," the guy on the left turned his back on me and the guy on the right didn't know what was going on until it was too late...at which point he tried to run out of the frame. I said, "But, your friend said it was okay" and quickly cycled away! I'd say these gentlemen were probably working without a business license...but then they might sue me for libel, so, no...I'm sure their papers are in order!
Anna participated in yesterday's Bimbinbici bike ride. I like this photo of her because she has all of the items related to the event on her...the Bimbinbici cap, the rose-shaped necklace thingy, the real roses that were distributed to all of the mothers present and the free ice-cream handed out at the end of the ride.
Anna is a stay-at-home mom who used to be a graphic designer until the birth of her first child, when she decided to give up her job and dedicate herself to the care of her family.
Every year on Mother's Day, Molfetta participates in Bimbinbici, a family bicycle ride around the city. It is a nationwide event aimed at promoting childrens' rights to ride their bikes through the city streets, no easy feat normally because of the dangers they face from rude and thoughtless drivers. Goals of the event include improving children's autonomy, learning safety rules for biking, and increasing respect for the environment.
Over 600 people took part in today's ride which started from the Rosaria Scardigno elementary school, headed down toward the sea...
...through Molfetta Vecchia (the historic centre of town)...
...and stopping for a snack and short clown show near the Madonna dei Martiri church.
Michele's family is one of the wealthiest in Molfetta, they own a large company that produces industrial drills. He works for the family firm and travels a great deal around the world. He was a wild and crazy kind of guy in his youth and was the lead singer of a band called I Figli delle Stelle, which specialised in raunchy humor and parodies of famous songs 1970s style (think large wigs and platform shoes). They reunited last summer for a hilarious concert here in town.
When I arrived at work Wednesday morning in Bari, which is located 25 kilometers down the Adriatic coast from Molfetta, I found the streets in front of my faculty decorated for several blocks with banners in the colors of the Bari soccer team. There had been a game the night before which, if Bari had won, would have gained the team a place in the A Series of national soccer. Much to their chagrin, Bari's team has been in the B Series for a few years now, and that is clearly not as satisfying as playing with the big boys in the A Series!
Looking to buy some olives, nuts, seeds, taralli (for a photo and recipe click here) or lemons?
L'Oasi della Freschezza is the place to go! You can see many mobile vendors like this one around Molfetta. There are many who sell fruit and vegetables, some on the back of small trucks like this one, and others who set up a sort of semi-permanent business on the sidewalk or even in the center divider of the street. The legality of many of these vendors is an ongoing topic of discussion around town...as in, do these guys actually have a business license? And do we want to have vendors blocking our sidewalks and spilling out into the street at times?
I'd be willing to bet that this guy, Sergio Mutti, has his papers in order. He was quite happy to have his picture taken and give me his name and the name of his enterprise! 
Torre Guaceto is a protected marine area and widlife reserve located about an hour's drive south of Molfetta. The reserve includes a stretch of coast six kilometers long, strongly characterised by typical Mediterranean landscape ranging from the sea to sand dunes, Mediterranean scrub and marshes, bordered by centuries-old olive groves.
For some time now, I've been wanting to do a series of photos on the people of Molfetta. I had this idea that I would call it "Molfettan Faces" and it would show Molfettans of all different types. I have been inspired in part by the 100 Strangers Project. The problem is that I rarely am able to work up the courage to ask strangers if I can photograph them. The people I have asked have always said yes, but I still get all shy about it.
A few last shots of the Alta Murgia.
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