Italian open Markets — The Vibrant Tradition of the Mercato
- May 17, 2021
- 5 min read
Written by: Stefania Piccardo, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
One of the many cultural aspects that I like about Italy, and that I mostly miss where I live, is the open market.
Open markets are the center of everyday life in most Italian cities and towns. They are vibrant, colorful, and noisy, surrounded by lots of chatters, bursting with life at every angle. As soon as you start your journey into an open Italian market, you experience the culture, the people, the aromas, the lively chattering of the vendors and their customers, the vibrancy of the food. This is the place where you can dive into the Italian culture, connect with the people, chat about anything, and experience their way of living.
The first thing you will notice is that there are lots of stands called bancarolle. You can find pretty much anything, from fruit to vegetables, all freshly and locally grown, to fresh fish and local meat, to bags, shoes, clothes, flowers, and home accessories.
Vendors will shout out their merchandise and the cost to attract customers’ attention and encourage people to come over to their stand and buy. For example, you may hear them say, "Carciofi a 2 euro al kilo! -Artichokes only 2 euros per kilo!"
Vendors will often offer you a taste of what they sell, and they will be very happy for you to take it and taste it. Everything is locally produced and freshly grown. All the food is seasonal so that you won’t find watermelons or strawberries in winter or artichokes in summer, for example.
If you are unsure how to cook something, vegetables, fish, or meat, the vendors will be more than happy to advise and recommend tasty recipes and ideas on various ways to cook their produce.
The best time to go to the open market is early morning or no later than 11 as the best products will be gone by then. Usually, queues are not monitored here, so you would need to ask, "Who is last?" ("Chi e’ l’ultimo?") and wait for your turn to be served. For the fruit and vegetable stands, the vendors will provide you with a bag to help yourself to whatever you need and want, then you will pass it back to them, and they will weigh the bag and tell you the cost.
They will add some aromatic herbs like fresh parsley, basil or celery into your bag for free, which is a plus! This won’t happen in a supermarket where the fruit and vegetable have to be weighed by the customer on a special scale with a corresponding number for each item.
One of the golden rules to remember in an open market is “Do not touch the food”! The vendor may get annoyed and tell you off! Usually, there are handwritten boards in the vegetable or fruit crates with the following words, "Si prega di non toccare!" ("Please do not touch!")
Disposable gloves are usually provided to customers to help themselves before selecting anything.
A piece of advice vendors will probably not speak English, so it would be a good idea to learn a few sentences before diving into the intense spirit of an Italian open market.
Let’s explore some of the common and useful sentences and expressions that you could use in this situation:
You can approach the vendor by saying, "Buongiorno, vorrei un kilo di carciofi per favore." ("Good morning, I would like a kilogram (2 pounds) of artichokes, please.")
Or “Vorrei due etti di prosciutto cotto per favore.” ("I would like two-quarter pounds of cooked ham, please.")
Or “Mi da un etto di parmigiano grattugiato per favore?” ("Can I get a quarter pound of grated parmisan please?") "Mi da due etti di Grana (Padano) per favore?" (In Italy, if you only mention Grana instead of saying Grana Padano, everyone will understand.) "Can I get two-quarter pounds of Grana, please?"
The vendor may ask you, "Che altro desidera?" Or ask, "Altro?" They are asking if you would like more.
If you are looking for ideas on how to cook something at the vegetable stands, you can ask: "Come si cucina?" "Come lo faccio questo?" "Come si fa?" (informal) "How do I cook this?"
Open markets have such a good impact on society as they are a meeting point for both young and old. They offer a positive, unique, and cheerful experience completely different from what you may get in a supermarket. People usually greet each other, and you may start chatting with people you don’t know at the vegetable or fruit stands. There is plenty of opportunities to chat with vendors pretty much about anything. The sellers may ask about your family, or "what are you cooking today?" Or give you impartial advice on something you try on, like a coat or a pair of shoes. If you are buying flowers, they will ask which occasion it is, and they will recommend the best bunch of flowers for you to gift.
Now you know what to do and what not to do in an open market in Italy. If you have any questions, drop me a comment below. Follow us and keep an eye on similar interesting articles!
Credit for the picture to www.tripadvisor.com
Stefania Piccardo, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Stefania Piccardo obtained her Ph.D. in English language and literature from La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. During her academic years, she worked for Scottish distilleries and castles as a tour guide in multiple languages. Her love for Scotland brought her back to Aberdeen in 2003, where she obtained an MSc in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs from Robert Gordon University.
She then worked for multiple organizations but soon realized that she wanted to teach languages privately to the corporate level. Stefania has helped many students achieve the best grades in school and university, but most of all, she has the ambition to train corporate employees who deal with import/export, foreign trade or want to develop their career and expand their horizons for more opportunities in Europe and beyond. She speaks four languages, including Italian, her mother tongue, English, French and Spanish, and she founded Language tutor4U back in 2012.
In addition to her teaching schedule, she works as a PR/Marketing manager for Namaste Delhi, the innovative and traditional Indian restaurant she owns, along with her husband in Aberdeen City center since 2018. As a keen writer, she also enjoys feeding social media posts and writing for her blogs about Italian and Indian cultures, languages, and much more!
