
102 years devoted
to pasta
The portrait of the founder of the Granoro pasta factory, who died in 2015
Attilio Mastromauro was one of the pioneers of the Italian pasta industry. A courageous and visionary entrepreneur, he lived through two world wars, the economic crisis of 1929 in the USA, where his father had gone convinced he would be able to found the pasta factory of his dreams there in 1919. He dedicated his entire life to the queen of the Italian table, pasta, until June 16, 2015, when he passed away at the age of 102.
āI have devoted my entire life to the search for quality, doing my job every day as if it were the first day".
Attilio Mastromauro
A continuous, daily commitment
An enlightened entrepreneur, Attilio Mastromauro, founder of Pastificio Granoro, was the last industrialist in the sector to have experienced the evolution of the pasta production cycle, from natural drying in the sun to modern electronically controlled production lines.
Two values inspired the life and work of āDon Attilioā, as he is still called in the company: his family, with his beloved Signora Chiara, a fundamental support throughout his industrial history, and his two daughters Marina and Daniela, both at the helm of the Pastificio today ā and his constant commitment to research. āThe search for the best,ā he explained, āis a continuous, daily commitment, and tomorrow we can do better than yesterday.ā


Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom Attilio and his wife Chiara met in the 1970s in Rome at the headquarters of the Missionary Sisters of Charity, has been their point of reference and spiritual support since then and throughout their lives.

Attilio Mastromauro’s story is one that has crossed paths with great personalities of the 20th century such as Saint Pio of Pietralcina, the statesman Aldo Moro and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In a confession to the “Friar of the Stigmata”, in 1961, he confided that he wanted to start a business that was all his own, leaving the one started at the beginning of the century by his father Leonardo. The answer was: “Do it. It will be a success.”
Aldo Moro, statesman and Prime Minister, inaugurated the companyās first plant on January 21, 1967. āThe South,ā Moro said on that occasion, āhas capable, committed, serious, reliable productive forces. The State cannot ignore the presence of figures like you. Young people must take an example from these entrepreneurs for their social responsibility, work.ā


The Gold Seal
More recently, in May 2014, Attilio Mastromauro received the Golden Seal of the University of Bari āfor constant research in product and process innovationā. The prestigious honour was presented by the then Rector of the University of Bari, Professor Antonio Felice Uricchio. [Ritorno a capo del testo]Before the award was given to the founder of Granoro, the last person to be awarded the University of Bari’s highest recognition was the President Emeritus of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano.
From the 150 quintals of pasta at the beginning to the 3,500 shapes today, from the conquest of Puglia to the markets of the five continents where Granoro brand products are present, Attilio Mastromauro’s is the story of a man who has shown the world what a true passion is made of.
