Bologna may attract food-loving travelers for its trattorias and osterias, but let’s not forget about the city’s superlative food markets. The outdoor and indoor markets of this city of 400,000 denizens are abundant with a bounty of colorful and fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, grains, fresh pasta, and herbs. And many of them have street food stalls that offer morsels bursting with flavor.
Even if you’re not doing your daily food shopping, like most locals who frequent these markets, any food lover should make a pilgrimage to the markets to take in the sensory explosion that are the marvelous food markets of Bologna.
Tips for shopping at Bologna’s food markets
- Make sure you have cash with you. Sure, since the pandemic, we’ve transistioned more to debit and credit card usage—even in Italy! But a lot of farmers and venders still prefer cash. You might even get a better deal from a vendor if you flash some cash when making your purchase.
- If you’re really buying ingredients to make dinner, don’t be shy about asking a vendor what her or his goods are best for. You might just learn a new local recipe.
- BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag. Vendors have plastic bags, but they’re often small and weak. Bring your own sturdy, preferably cloth bag, and you’ll be able to come home with a bounty of delicous fresh goods.
- If your Italian is not up to snuff, learning a few phrases will go a long way:
- Quanto costa? How much does it cost.
- Qual è il più fresco? What is the freshest?
- Numbers: Uno (1), due (2), tre (3), quattro (4), cinque (5), dieci (10), venti (20), etc.
The best food markets in Bologna
Mercato delle Erbe
The largest indoor or covered market in the city of Bologna, Mercato delle Erbe, or vegetable market, first opened in 1910 near Piazza Maggiore but eventually moved after World War II due to the heavy bombing of Bologna’s historical center. It reopened in its currently location—just northwest of Pizza Maggiore—in 1949 and has since become a local favorite for ultra-fresh vegetables and fruits.
The market lanes are flanked by buche, literally translates as “holes,” or stalls that sell everything you need to make a traditional dinner that night. If you’re not there to shop but are hungry, Mercato delle Erbe doubles as a food hall. Here you can feast on classic dishes like a Bolognese ragù with fettuccine or stuffed tortellini. One favorite feasting spot in the market is the restaurant Altro? where they make an excellent lasagna alla bolognese and juicy roasted chicken with potatoes, among a menu of classic Bologna delights.
The market is open every day from seven in the morning until the evening.
Mercato Ritrovato
On Saturday mornings at Cineteca di Bologna—specifically in Piazzetta Pasolini and Piazzetta Anna Magnan—Mercato Ritrovato blossoms into a colorful medium-sized market with over 50 vendors. Since 2012, farmers from the surrounding countryside gravitate here where only fresh, seasonal, and local produce is allowed to be sold. This is zero-kilometer shopping and street food at its best in Bologna. Fruits and vegetables are on offer, of course, but there is also fresh fish, meat, as well as artisanal cheese, craft beer, and natural wine.
And naturally there are a lot of street food options with large picnic-style tables in which to feast on nibbles and sip on glasses of wine.
Mercato Bolognina
If it’s Wednesday morning and you need your fresh food market fix, head to Mercato Bolognina, sometimes called Mercato Albani, located in in the Bolognina district north of the city center. Under the semi-covered ceiling, a host of local farmers sell their goods—everything from oganic fruits and veggeis to free-range meat to fresh fish. You can also buy pastries, grains, and wine. Often, you can find free samples and coffee tastings happening at the market too. And don’t be surprised if there’s a live jazz trio or quintent playing, helping to create a soundtrack to your market shopping expereince.
Quadrilatero
Located just off the city’s main square, Piazza Maggiore, Quadrilatero is the city’s oldest market and is actually in a swath of town where the narrow lanes burst with a bounty of market produce. The market’s vendors sell everything from produce to fresh meat and seafood to diminutive wine shops spilling out onto the cobblestone streets.
Within the Quadrilatero is the Mercato di Mezz0, like a market within a market, a high-ceilinged indoor market that also doubles as a pizzeria, beer bar, pasta restaurant, and other spots in which to indulge.
Come in the morning to take in the sensory pleasures—the smell of just-picked veggies, the sound of vendors advertising their wares, the taste of a just-baked cornetto, the colorful sites of strawberries and citrus fruit—and then return in the evening when restaurants and bars open up. Here, day and evening, you’ll find a number of iconic shops and bakeries, such as 91-year-old butcher and cheesemonger A.F. Tamburini and Paola Atti & Figli, a century-old pasta shop.
Join our Tastes and Traditions of Bologna Tour to visit a market with a local expert! Our food tour takes you into the heart of the quintessential Italian experience and introduces you to the families making these incredible delights.
David Farley is a West Village-based food and travel writer whose work appears regularly in the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC, and Food & Wine, among other publications. He’s the author of three books, including “An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town,” which was made into a documentary by the National Geographic Channel. You can find Farley’s online homes here and here.