Mercato Orientale
Tucked inside a deconsecrated 16th-century Augustinian cloister on Via XX Settembre, the Mercato Orientale is the beating culinary heart of Genoa — a place where fishmongers shout over mountains of fresh anchovies, and elderly women squeeze basil bunches to check for fragrance. It's as close to a sensory overload as a food market gets, in the best possible way.
What's on the Stalls
The fish section is the star: gleaming branzino, heaps of mussels from the Ligurian coast, and buckets of the tiny anchovies that define the local diet. Arrive before 9 am to watch the serious buyers — restaurant chefs and nonnas — pick through the catch with professional intensity.
The produce stalls overflow with Ligurian specialities: Taggiasca olives, bundles of fresh marjoram and basil, jars of pesto made that morning, and the knobbled Genovese focaccia di Recco cheese bread wrapped in paper. The cloister's arched loggia gives the whole scene an unlikely elegance.
Eating and Shopping Around the Market
The market's 2018 renovation added a lively food-court section called MercatoOrientale_Genova on the upper floor, where young Genoese chefs serve updated takes on Ligurian classics — try the trofie al pesto or the fried anchovies in a paper cone. It's a brilliant lunch stop that costs well under €15.
The surrounding streets of Via XX Settembre are lined with historic covered arcades (the Galleria Mazzini is nearby) and excellent alimentari selling bottarga, dried porcini and local olive oil — perfect for edible souvenirs.
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