Local Market in Greve
Greve, in central Tuscany, hosts a market in
their main piazza every third Saturday morning.
It's mostly for locals, although I spotted a very large tour group so
I'm sure they try to capture their business as well. There was everything imaginable
with all kinds of vendors. The Italian open markets seem similar to the photos
a friend from Turkey sent to me recently.
Booths were in abundance selling everything from underwear up to fine clothing, leather
goods, jewelry, etc. - the usual one would expect. And also expected, but more traditional, were
the food vendors, tapas and wine bars and of course all the shops around the
piazza that are also open with many outdoor cafes. As you can see from the
photos it looked very traditionally Italian.
Here the vendors were especially friendly and helpful. I know now how to
ask "quando costa?" for "how much will it cost" and
how to barter in Italian! Found some
things that, even converted to US dollars, were a steal for the quality. Will this be the same in Florence?
All I was told has lived up to expectations -
that Italy has a remarkable food industry – growing, preparing, marketing, and
enjoying! Like so many other places in
the world, the plentiful appearance of food belies the availability to humans
who cannot access it freely. This whole
trip is to explore the variety, the growing and preparation and to explore how
art can be used to command a focus on the need of so many to access something
considered so ordinary and yet so beautiful and vital a commodity.
