Although many countries have given up the weekly appointments with street markets and moved towards to big malls, or Designers outlets Italy still keeps it's tradition.
One day I happened to be in this small town just outside of Milan called Canegrate where they had their weekly market on Monday's.
As anything in Italy, it starts with a cup of espresso:
I imagined that the market would be small and only with few sales activity, but it turned out to be my physical exercise of the day. The whole main street was close for the traffic as well as some smaller side roads.
I have always enjoyed visiting markets. They give me the feeling of a good energy. People actually want to help you to find you products, chat with you while shopping. The atmosphere is so familiar.I feel like at home. That's what happens to an extrovert like me: I charge my batteries just by being with other people.
Most of the times when I visit markets I buy things I don't really need, but it makes me happy to give to the artisan a possibility to make her/his living.
This time I bought green coffee (I need to know what for), some bee honey, underwear that I could get from the shop just stone drop away, a t-shirt made by the stand keeper, and some gifts to Christmas.
Yes, I really start with gifts in the summer.
And as any Italian village, it has it's main square and the church, with it's fountain
Some years ago, Market was an excellent place to find Italian custom tailored clothes and shoes that were difficult to find from shops. And meet friends and chat with them with a cup of espresso.
At Canegrate I was totally out of my own area, and knew no one to chat with. That didn't stop me, because Italians are so easily to be led on small talk.
You may always talk about soccer or about the wether. This period is very hot, and what else I could talk about than about the summer clothes, they still kept selling.
Most sales personnel nowadays are foreigners, like central africans mostly selling bags and other simil leather goods, or Chinese selling "one size fit all" clothes. Northern africans are concentrated on selling household items, and Italians keep on with their culinary delicates. And as in every market, I found here too that one stand giving demonstration of how to use something new sold only on tv. In this case an electrical hairbrush that straighten hair just by brushing it. But I wasn't looking for that. I was looking for a vegetable slicing machine where all the parts can be deposit in it in a special box.
That reminded me how hungry I was, and got my self a table in the local restaurant.
To figure out wether there is a weekly market at your town, and where precisely, just seek market and the name of the town with web research.
Now I'll enjoy my spaghetti with tomato sauce.
One day I happened to be in this small town just outside of Milan called Canegrate where they had their weekly market on Monday's.
As anything in Italy, it starts with a cup of espresso:
I imagined that the market would be small and only with few sales activity, but it turned out to be my physical exercise of the day. The whole main street was close for the traffic as well as some smaller side roads.
I have always enjoyed visiting markets. They give me the feeling of a good energy. People actually want to help you to find you products, chat with you while shopping. The atmosphere is so familiar.I feel like at home. That's what happens to an extrovert like me: I charge my batteries just by being with other people.
Most of the times when I visit markets I buy things I don't really need, but it makes me happy to give to the artisan a possibility to make her/his living.
This time I bought green coffee (I need to know what for), some bee honey, underwear that I could get from the shop just stone drop away, a t-shirt made by the stand keeper, and some gifts to Christmas.
Yes, I really start with gifts in the summer.
And as any Italian village, it has it's main square and the church, with it's fountain
Some years ago, Market was an excellent place to find Italian custom tailored clothes and shoes that were difficult to find from shops. And meet friends and chat with them with a cup of espresso.
At Canegrate I was totally out of my own area, and knew no one to chat with. That didn't stop me, because Italians are so easily to be led on small talk.
You may always talk about soccer or about the wether. This period is very hot, and what else I could talk about than about the summer clothes, they still kept selling.
Most sales personnel nowadays are foreigners, like central africans mostly selling bags and other simil leather goods, or Chinese selling "one size fit all" clothes. Northern africans are concentrated on selling household items, and Italians keep on with their culinary delicates. And as in every market, I found here too that one stand giving demonstration of how to use something new sold only on tv. In this case an electrical hairbrush that straighten hair just by brushing it. But I wasn't looking for that. I was looking for a vegetable slicing machine where all the parts can be deposit in it in a special box.
That reminded me how hungry I was, and got my self a table in the local restaurant.
To figure out wether there is a weekly market at your town, and where precisely, just seek market and the name of the town with web research.
Now I'll enjoy my spaghetti with tomato sauce.
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