Off on a desolate little side street tucked discreetly in Trani’s historic centre sits cafe Baciuco. Baciuco boasts a kind of blink and you’ll miss it appeal. I was the only patron for the two plus hours I sat there on a Saturday afternoon in March, and while this doesn’t perhaps bode well for business, it does add to the old-time charm of the place. A charm that wouldn’t seem out of place in a Jimmy Stewart film, if Jimmy Stewart were Italian and lived in a port city in Italy’s heel.
Like seemingly all Italian cafes, Baciuco lives and dies by the appeal of the coffee. I had a cappuccino, my drink of choice when I cafe hop through Italy’s small rustic towns, and found it perfectly delightful. Just the right amount of foam topping off what was a delightful Cavaliere espresso bean.
As is typical in coffee centric Italy, the barmen don’t bother with “cafe art”, which is to say that your coffee won’t have an elaborate heart drawn into it. The art is in the coffee itself, as it should be.
Lest you feel hungry, having walked the ‘further than it looks’ distance along Trani’s port, you’ll find food served here as well, though of solely the panini and burger variety. My club sandwich was just as a club sandwich ought to be, which is to say they didn’t make any mistakes and the ingredients were all fresh.
The only real complaint I’d lodge at all is the randomly frenetic and pointless quality of the music which is purely top 40, meaning you’ll be hearing an Italian rap song that will automatically transition into an instrumental jazz piece. I didn’t mind the latter but let’s just say that Italian rap doesn’t lend much to a place’s sense of “La dolce vita.” A soundtrack of purely Italian tunes, such as the Frank Sinatra-esque Domenico Mudogno, would go a long way in complimenting the place’s green tile and vespa style spirit.
If for no other reason than to get a much needed snack and to escape the blazing Italian sun, Cafe Baciuco provides a lovely stop before making the rest of the trip up to the nearby, sea-side cathedral for which the city is famous.
Address Piazza Battisti 12 Public transport N/A: It’s small town in Italy – you can walk.
Opening times As this is Italy, my putting up the hours would be pointless. Opening and closing times are completely up to the whim of the owner.
Cost € Telephone N/A Website N/A
My Life in Transit 