Roman Farmers Markets

Hello Family-

This week will be checking in with our foreign correspondent: our daughter Ersilia.  She will be spending the school year in Rome as a student of Loyola University.   From time to time, Ersilia will provide everyone a taste of life in Roma!  Enjoy!!


"Last Sunday, September 14^th, I did a really hard thing. I woke up at seven in the morning to venture from one side of Rome to the other with a crowd of people to join larger crowds of people at three of the cities neatest markets. The first stop was at Porta Portese – Rome’s largest and most renown. Every Sunday over a thousand merchants set up their stalls, selling anything from antiques to bottle openers. It’s loud, with little space, and has the special smell of a flea market. For me the best part was walking through the ancient Roman gates to enter the flea market, something I did a few times because I love to play the fool.

Next, we walked along the Tiber to the Mercato di Campagna Amica, a farmers market near the Circo Massimo. A smaller affair, only twenty to thirty merchants come together every Sunday to sell their produce. It is quite the diverse selections, with the traditional fruits and vegetables to a variety of prosciutto's, bread, cheeses, and mozzarella (because in Italy – Mozzarella has its own category separate from cheese), to regional wines, specialty jams, candies and gelatos. The prices are more than fair and the food is awesome. Also awesome is the food plate one can buy for five euros – a sampling of the different vendors produce with a cup of red or white wine. There is a seating area outside where one can go off on his/her own or buddy up and make a new friend if that’s preferred. I bought a prosciutto panino and a cup of red wine and had a great time being awkward with a cute, old Italian couple. Before leaving, I bought ten ripe and juicy peaches for two euros, a jar of pumpkin and ginger jam for my cousin Lara (pumpkin anything is a rarity in Italy), and sampled some homemade gelato.

Our last stop was at the Monti Market, near the Coliseum. Monti is the Wicker Park of Rome and this weekly Sunday market is appropriately full of artisan work. It’s Etsy offline. Everything is handmade, unique, beautiful, a must-have, and pricy. That kind of sucks, but haggling with artists is something I can’t do. Fortunately and unfortunately I did not leave empty handed – a pair of earrings and some postcards got me. By now it was around five o’clock – and most of the group was beat. We hopped on the metro and took a bus back. Victorious with my spoils, I enjoyed my dinner of peaches that night."

Visit our Facebook page to see  more of Ersilia's pictures.