Mercato Settimanale – Piazza Matteotti & Via XI Settembre
Every Thursday morning the broad Piazza Matteotti and the arcaded streets fanning off it fill with stalls selling everything from hand-rolled pasta to locally foraged porcini and the prized Bianchetto truffles that grow in the Upper Tiber Valley. This is not a tourist market – it is where Alta Valle del Tevere families have shopped for generations.
What to look for
Arrive before 09:00 to catch the best of the produce stalls: fat heads of radicchio, strings of dried Borlotti beans, jars of truffle-laced honey and the slightly funky, intensely savoury Mazzafegato sausage unique to this corner of Umbria. Several vendors sell fresh Torta al Testo, the unleavened flatbread cooked on a stone griddle that is the edible emblem of the region.
The clothing and household-goods stalls stretch along Via XI Settembre and are largely for locals, but tucked among them you will reliably find vendors selling antique linen, hand-embroidered tablecloths and the occasional piece of local ceramics at prices a fraction of what you would pay in a Deruta tourist shop.
Eating and lingering
After shopping, pull a chair into Bar Duomo or one of the cafés under the Palazzo del Podestà arcades and order a cappuccino with a slice of Torcolo – the anise-and-raisin ring cake sold by the bakery stalls. The piazza empties fast after 13:00, so the whole experience has a satisfying, unhurried rhythm if you time it right.
The weekly market is also a good moment to pick up a bottle of IGT Colli Altotiberini white wine directly from local producers who occasionally set up a small stand; the Grechetto grape variety grown on the valley slopes is crisp, mineral and almost unknown outside the region.
More of Città di Castello
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Città di Castello →
