Italian Local Markets – Bargains Galore!

Italian local markets – if you have never been to one you have missed an experience.

Italian Local Markets

Weekly Markets

I am not talking about the big annual markets like the May Day market in Montepulciano in Tuscany. Though this is when the streets of Montepulciano are lined with market stalls and everyone buys their geraniums for the year.  Nor the Fiera dei Morte in Perugia, Umbria which held over five days to coincide with the feast of All Saints’ Day. That market takes over three hours just to walk around the more than 500 stalls! Nor even the annual flower market in Cetona.  I am talking about the weekly markets held in local towns.

Find Out Which Days Markets Are Held

Most towns and villages have a weekly market and we have a choice of several where we live. For example, Chiusi in Tuscany and Tavernelle in Umbria both hold their market on a Monday morning. The photos in the blog are from the market in Tavernelle which is my favorite.  Castiglione del Lago has a market on a Wednesday morning and Citta della Pieve on a Saturday.  The wise tourist finds out on the first day of their holiday which local markets are held on which days!

Time for Gossip

For the local people, market day is an opportunity to meet friends, catch up on the gossip and generally put the world to rights. You see little groups around the market, often small groups of men standing chatting whilst their wives visit the stalls.

The Mainstay of Local Communities

For many towns and villages, before cars and large central supermarkets, these Italian local markets were the mainstay of local communities. While now it is easy to hop in the car and go to the latest shopping area, it is still nice to have the market vendors arrive on their set day and browse the items they have available.

I love sauntering around the market looking at what is available and I rarely come home without something. The fresh fruit and vegetables are always worth looking at and often at cheap prices.

Watch out for the ‘etto’

If you are going to buy some fruit or vegetables though I must introduce you to the ‘etto’. The etto is an old system of measurement that is still in use in Italy and equates to 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces). Etto is an abbreviation of ettogramma (hectogram – from Greek hecto meaning 100). The plural of ‘etto’ is ‘etti’ just to confuse you even further. I don’t tend to worry about weight, I just indicate what I want and tell them when they have put enough in the bag!!!

What You Can Buy At Italian Local Markets

If you want just one light bulb or one battery, rather than buying a big pack, just head off to your Italian local market and there will be a stall that sells individual items. Some have knife sharpeners, some sell chicks to be raised for eggs and food.

The main attraction of an Italian local market for me has to be the handbags, scarves and clothing stalls. You could guarantee on a visit here my Mum would buy a handbag given the prices – you can still buy basic handbags for around 10 euros which means that a girl has no excuse for not having several to match different outfits.

Different colored pashminas to match various outfits? No problem. Comfortable thick pullovers and roll neck tops for winter in different colors? No problem. Bright and colorful strappy tops to wear in the Summer? No problem. And, oh, the choice of pairs of slippers on a shoe stall in winter has to be seen to be believed. All at bargain prices of course.

Purchase Images

Check out my images towns and villages in Umbria at my Art Heroes (Europe), Pictorem (USA and Canada) and RedBubble (worldwide) stores.

Originally published in 2016, this article has been updated and republished 4 March 2022.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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