Mercato Centrale, Florence/by Shelley Lance
Browsing through my photos from our trip to Florence in early June has inspired me to put up one last post about Italy:
Florence’s large food market, the Central Market or Mercato Centrale, is located in a large, light-filled, two-story warehouse built of cast iron and glass. Meats, cheeses, prepared foods, and several cafes are on the first floor and the produce is upstairs. Every food market I’ve ever visited in Europe has been amazing and beautiful, and Mercato Centrale is no exception. The quality of meat in Florence looked extraordinary everywhere, form the neighborhood supermarket to the Central Market. As in other non-American markets, the meats and poultry tend to look more “real,” with feet and heads left on the poultry for example. I love the way many foods are semi-prepared and ready for you to take home and do the final cooking. So convenient! The produce was gorgeous, and I was surprised at the amount of mushrooms available in early summer, which I had assumed would be an off-season for mushrooms. The bottom photo is the sign outside our beloved “agritourismo” (a lodging where some agricultural products such as wine and honey are produced) in the suburbs of Florence, where we stayed with friends. Arrivederci, Italy! I hope to return soon!
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