Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco

Where it was filmed 'Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco'

After years spent working in Legnano, Lolita Lobosco (Luisa Ranieri), the main character in Gabriella Genisi’s stories, takes up the post of Deputy Police Commissioner in Bari. She was born in Bari Vecchia, a labyrinth of alleys and small squares where elderly women still make pasta by hand. Her apartment is in the centre of town, on the top floor of a building in piazza dell’Odegitria, dominated by the Romanesque bulk of the Basilica of St. Sabine. One of the many glimpses of the old city’s alleys shows Arco Alto as Lolita drives her co-worker Esposito in her Bianchina to buy bread rolls “a cappidde de prèvete”. On a night stroll, Lolita walks through largo Albicocca with the reporter Danilo Martini (Filippo Scicchitano): the square, whose warm lighting makes it very welcoming, was transformed into an urban garden with two ancient olive trees surrounded by citrus and strawberry trees in its centre.

The late 18^th century Baroque façade that houses Bari Police Station and its courtyard is recognisable as Palazzo Palmieri in the historic centre of Monopoli, a few metres from the Church of St. Teresa, seen in several shots, while the interiors (including the commissioner’s office) are actually those of Palazzo della Provincia, an eclectic building dating between 1932 – 35, on lungomare Nazario Sauro in Bari. This is a route Lolita often takes when she jogs or goes for a walk, along with Pane e Pomodoro beach, either alone or with others, as she analyses the cases she is investigating. The seafront lungomare offers a view of other symbolic places in the city: Bergia Carabinieri Barracks, Terza Regione Aerea, Palazzo della Provincia, Albergo delle Nazioni, Circolo Canottieri Barion, Teatro Margherita, the walls, the fort and Sant’Antonio harbour, over to Fiera del Levante. Travelling in an Apecar that belongs to a greengrocer friend of her father, Lolita, her mother Nunzia (Lunetta Savino) and sister Carmela also cross the Adriatic Bridge in the first episode. The little vehicle is another way for Lolita to travel the beauties of the city and roam through her memories: Teatro Petruzzelli, where she would go as a child with her father; the stadium; and the harbour where the Vlora, a ship filled with Albanians fleeing their country, docked in 1991 sparking a competition of solidarity in the local community. Lolita also runs with Castello Svevo in the background.

Monopoli is present again, its picturesque old harbour clearly evident in the scene where agents film a Christmas video in episode 1. The murder of Lolita’s old schoolfriend takes place at night not far away, outside the Castle of Charles V. The countryside of Monopoli also features, with Masseria Spina, identified in the first episode by an idiosyncratic red façade, serving as the home of Stefano Morelli, Lolita’s first love who is accused of rape, and his family.

The exteriors of the Abbey of San Vito in Polignano a Mare, in episode 3, are the backdrop to a significant event in Lolita’s childhood and relationship with her father. On the edge of the little harbour, it directly overlooks the sea. Another place linked to her childhood is a masseria in the countryside around Brindisi, in Pezze di Greco, a hamlet of Fasano, where Lolita’s father is arrested in front of her. The funeral of the famous restauranteur is held at the Chiesa Matrice di San Pietro in piazza Plebiscito in the historic centre of Putignano next to the Romanazzi Carducci Civic Museum.

In the last episode, Lolita asks professor Introna for information on the latest murder victim in what appears to be an avantgarde hospital. The futuristic windows and stairs of the building, however, are identifiable as the headquarters of the Regional Government of Apulia in the Japigia neighbourhood in Bari. The riding centre close to Forte (Giovanni Ludeno) and Esposito’s stake out stands on the strada vicinale Torre di Mizzo, a country road that winds through olive groves and dry walls to the south of Bari. Lolita, meanwhile, decides to visit her old trainer and takes the bus from the square outside Bari’s central station.

Where it was filmed 'Le indagini di Lolita Lobosco'

Food and wine

“At Christmas, the people of Bari prepare to eat as if they were going to war” (“E a Natale i baresi si preparano ad andare a tavola come fosse una guerra”). Episode 1, La circonferenza delle arance, takes place at Christmas: on Christmas Eve, amidst the many delicacies at the Lobosco family home are freshly baked panzerotti, half-moons of pizza dough that are stuffed and fried. Cartellate are honey sweets (there are many variations) made in this time of year in Apulia. Lolita recommends a bakery to her co-worker Esposito where he can buy bread rolls “cappidde de prèvete”, in the shape of a priest’s cap for the ritual Sunday lunch with his mother. In episode 1 we also discover that Lolita adores sporcamuss, little puff pastry squares filled with confectioners’ custard and sprinkled with icing sugar: it is impossible not to get covered with the sugar when biting into them, hence the name, sporca: dirty, “u muss” being dialect for mouth.

In episode 2, Solo per i miei occhi, Lolita is telling her friend Marietta something about her investigation: the two are sitting in a restaurant overlooking Teatro Margherita, but her friend is distracted by what she is eating: “when one eats sea urchin, one talks of love” (Quando si mangiano i ricci si parla d’amore”). Lolita’s mother, Nunzia, gives a group of Japanese holidaymakers some mussels to try; later she will (vainly) try to teach the happy little family how to make orecchiette.

Episode 3, Spaghetti all’assassina, is dedicated to a dish of great symbolism for Bari: the name is linked to the cooking technique where the spaghetti is cooked directly in the sauce in an iron pan; the pasta cooked this way is crisp, a little burnt and spicy.

The last episode, Gioco pericoloso, begins with an elegant dinner where Lolita orders cavatelli cozze e vongole (cavatelli pasta with clams and mussels). During a stakeout, Esposito pulls out a “snack”: riso patate e cozze(tiella barese – Rice potatoes and mussels), another classic dish from the area.