Il mercato

In Italy, I have been to three different outdoor markets.   In Florence, I went to the San Lorenzo market, which mostly sells souvenirs and Italian products for tourists.  In Venice, I saw a huge fruit and vegetable market.  In Verona, I walked through a market of artists selling their work (they were also holding a competition for who had the best painting; I voted, but I don’t know who won).  All of the markets are full of people and energy, so you have to go into them with a positive, leisurely attitude.  If you’re impatient (like me), it can be frustrating to push through slow-moving crowds and stressful to stick with a group in all the chaos.

However, the markets are a great way to buy things cheaply and practice your Italian and haggling skills.  I, for one, am not very aggressive, so haggling with vendors isn’t something I’m very comfortable with, but I’ve seen Jordan get some awesome deals by asking the vendors for lower prices.  Of course, the legitimacy of some of the products in the touristy markets isn’t always very clear, but in most cases you honestly can’t tell the difference between the “real thing” (which is incredibly expensive) and what the street vendor is selling (often incredibly affordable).  I’d suggest checking out the markets for some things, and then splurging on the stuff you really care about.   At the San Lorenzo market, I saw Italian leather, fans, masks, clothes, jerseys/calcio memorabilia, cameos, paintings, postcards, etc. The shops go on and on, you’ve just got to search for the right deals. They often don’t have price tags on their items, so you have to get used to asking how much things cost and conversing with the vendor.  A lot of them speak sufficient English, but it’s fun to test your Italian, too!

The fruit markets are beautiful, colorful, and a little mysterious.  I saw lots of things I’d never heard off.  Here I mostly observed Italians grocery shopping. These markets close earlier in the day. –Jenny Curatola

Parole utili:  Quanto costa questo/quello? (How much does this/that cost?)  Barattare (to barter) Dov’è un bancomat? (Where is an ATM?)