Campo de' Fiori

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The sun shines brightly, warming the cobblestones in the streets, as I walk to the Campo de' Fiori to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables. I walk down the street and through the Piazza Farnese, with its two matching fountains to the open air market. This short trip takes me close to 15 minutes, because I stop every ten steps or so to take photos of buildings, doors, grillwork.

Campo de' Fiori originated as a flower market. Maintaining the tradition, several flower vendors set up on the north side of the piazza, and stay open until after dark. In the morning, the rest of the plaza fills with vendors, mostly with fruits and vegetables, along with some clothing, jewelry, kitchen pots and dishes. Strings of chiles and garlic hang from some of the tent covers. A wagon sits at one end of the market, filled with huge pumpkins in shades of rust and orange.

Each stand has bins filled with greens. Some of the smaller bunches of lettuce are carefully placed upright in wooden bins, making pleasing patterns with their various greenery. There is lettuce, chicory, rocket (also known as arugula in the U.S), basil, spinach, all very, very fresh and inviting. The Italian grapes are large and plump, almost the size of plums. There are plums, peaches, and of course apples, pears and persimmons, since fall has arrived.

Some vendors have baskets of finely chopped vegetables: “Minestrone”, the sign says , for making a quick soup. One has more exotic cherimoya, taro root, some other items I cannot identify. In one corner of the plaza, I find a cart with seafood chilling on crushed ice, a table of cheeses (with parmagiana reggiano predominant), and more tables with pasta, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sausages, jars of honey, bins of spices.

At noon, the market will begin to close, and by 2:00, most of the vendors will be gone except for the flower stalls which will stay until after dark.

I leave the Campo de' Fiori with tiny French green beans, a bunch of arugula, a few handfuls of mixed greens, and a bag of Italian grapes. As a last-minute impulse, I stop and buy a bunch of sunflowers for a special treat.