{"id":15900,"date":"2019-03-28T10:37:49","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T10:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devourromefoodtours.com\/?p=2598"},"modified":"2022-09-02T16:43:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T16:43:26","slug":"testaccio-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/testaccio-market\/","title":{"rendered":"A Love Letter to Rome: Testaccio Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

This post is part of our Love Letter<\/a> series: first-person accounts of what we love about Rome.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I have lived in Rome for nearly nine years, but I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I step into Testaccio Market.<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The market is honestly one of the reasons I moved to this Roman neighborhood. After just one visit, I was determined to make it a part of my daily routine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Testaccio Market (via Lorenzo Ghiberti)<\/em> is the place to come to catch up on neighborhood gossip and weather reports at the coffee bar, stop for a quick trim at the hairdresser, pick up a new pair of Made in Italy shoes, rub elbows with Italian nonne <\/em>(grandmas) as you stock up on fresh produce, order oxtail from the butcher to simmer slowly for hours at home, sip a craft beer, and then join the trendy crowd waiting in line for one of Rome\u2019s best sandwiches. It means so many things to so many people, but to me it embodies what I love about life in Italy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I had already been living in Rome for several years when I finally visited Testaccio, an area that sits just beyond Aventino (one of Ancient Rome\u2019s seven hills), and across the river from Trastevere. The quartiere<\/em> is only about a 20-minute walk from the Colosseum, but I made the classic mistake of assuming it was tucked too far out of the way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In reality, Testaccio is as Roman as they come. The neighborhood might not have the winding medieval alleyways of the centro storico,<\/em> but it does have over 2,000 years of foodie history and a fierce sense of local pride. This is where you will find the headquarters of the A.S. Roma soccer fan club, as well as the origins for the city\u2019s most beloved recipes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But it was the reputation of the market that finally lured me to explore this slowly evolving, working-class neighborhood. I had heard rumors of a vendor who wasn\u2019t just a tomato seller, but a poet. This was where to find the freshest mozzarella and the best pecorino, locals assured me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll never shop anywhere else again,\u201d a friend warned me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I could never have imagined how true that would turn out to be. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"The<\/figure>\r\n\r\n

The New Testaccio Market<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Mercato di Testaccio is technically \u201cNuovo Mercato di Testaccio\u201d\u2014the new Testaccio market. The market has been a neighborhood fixture for more than 80 years, but it\u2019s considered \u201cnew\u201d because it moved to its current location in 2012.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For many decades before that, the market was located in Piazza Testaccio, a five minute walk away in lively square that is still the heart of the neighborhood, even if the food stalls have moved a few streets away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It was this original market that I first experienced, in all of its dim, chaotic, perfect glory, with piles of oranges around the corner from ceiling-high shelves piled with every imaginable home good you might need.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Testaccio\r\n
Testaccio Market’s new, modern location. Photo credit: Lalupa<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The new market is airy and light-filled, but most of the sellers have been running their businesses since long before the small location change. It was the daily energy and vibrancy that they brought to the market that first stopped me in my tracks. I wanted in on their casual jokes with regular customers, as well as easy access to the gleaming clementines and stacks of curiously spiky romanesco broccoli.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So, I did it. I moved my life across the city, and settled down a couple of blocks away from the market. I joined the daily shoppers and worked my way through the bounty of this neighborhood institution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When the market settled into its shiny new digs, the traditional butchers and bread makers were soon joined by a much more modern market stand: street food sellers. Testaccio is home to the only market in Rome where you can find amazing ready-to-eat food, side by side with the best local ingredients Italy can offer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Porchetta:\r\n
The marketplace is full of delicious street food-style bites, like Roman porchetta. Photo credit: zero.the.hero<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I was enamored with it all, but I didn\u2019t really fall in love with Testaccio Market until I was pregnant. My daily rounds slowed down as I grew more rotund myself, and it gave me more time to fall hard for the sheer beauty of it all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There was Filippo, himself a grandfather, who would demand that I help myself to an apple while waiting my turn to order. I was grateful to the grandmothers, who always insisted I go before them in line. And I couldn\u2019t have made it nine months without the cookies that Artenio sells by the kilogram.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And when my son was born? The market loved him right back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cCiao bello!\u201d everyone will call as we walk through in the mornings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cGiacomo! You have to try this pizza,\u201d Artenio will cry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And because pizza is the way to anyone\u2019s heart, I can already tell that my one-year-old understands just how magical our local market can be.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Pizza\r\n
Pizza is always a good idea, and tastes even better when it comes fresh from the market. Photo credit: Yashima<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Natalie\u2019s Favorite Stalls<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As more and more Italian shoppers are lured away by the convenience of supermarkets, Mercato di Testaccio\u2019s balance of traditional fresh food stalls mixed with indulgent street food options is exactly what has made it a success.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The market is organized on a grid so you will find that every stall has a number. However, the best way to experience the market is to wander up and down the aisles. You will find the fishmongers grouped in one area, most of the fresh food vendors in the center, and non-food items ranging from vintage clothes to flowers clustered on one side. The street food stalls are interspersed throughout and there is free seating next to the coffee bar in the heart of the market, so have a good look around before making your selections, then regroup in the middle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To get you started, a few of my favorite places go in Testaccio market are:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n