Market · Emilia-Romagna

Mercato di Mezzo, Bologna

Tucked inside a cluster of medieval towers in the heart of the Quadrilatero — Bologna's ancient market district — Mercato di Mezzo is where the city's legendary food culture distils itself into a single, glorious, slightly chaotic indoor hall.

What to Eat and Buy

The ground floor stalls overflow with mortadella sliced to order, hand-pulled tortellini, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels, and tigelle — small griddle breads stuffed with cured meats — while the upper floor is a buzzing food court where you can eat standing at wine-barrel tables.

Look for Simoni, the historic salumeria on nearby Via Drapperie that has been selling cured meats from the same counter since 1960; a paper cone of mortadella cubes costs around €2 and is one of the great cheap eats of Italy.

The Quadrilatero Neighbourhood

The streets surrounding the market — Via Pescherie Vecchie, Via Caprarie, Via Drapperie — form a dense medieval grid that has been a food market since Roman times, and the layout has barely changed since the Middle Ages.

Go on a Saturday morning when local nonnas do their weekly shop alongside tourists, and the fishmongers, cheese vendors and pasta makers are all operating at full tilt. The energy is entirely authentic — this is not a tourist facsimile of a market, it is the real thing.