In 2001, McDonalds opened a franchise in the Italian town of Altamura, much to the disgruntlement of local
gastronomes. As of this week, however, McDonalds was forced to close its doors due to a lack of business.
A local bakery, owned by Signor Digesù, and its renowned bread and panini sandwich offerings remained a customer
favorite after an initial local interest in golden arches. In its five year presence in town, lines at McDonalds grew
steadily shorter as the queues at Digesù’s bakery grew. There was no marketing nor any discounts offered
to customers of the bakery, just the attraction of panini with fillings which include mortadella, mozzarella and eggs,
basil and tomato and a local version of bruschetta. Altamura is famed for its bread, which has been granted a DOP Certificate and recognized by the European Union as a protected regional product. DOP, or Denominazione d’Origine Protetta (denomination of protected origin), ensures that a product comes only from a specific regional area, and Altamura bread is the only Italian bread to qualify for such an honor. The recipe dates from the 14th century, though bread has been made, possibly according to the same formula, since roman times, when the poet Horace wrote that it was the finest bread in the world.
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