{"id":318,"date":"2007-04-05T05:57:32","date_gmt":"2007-04-05T03:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sararosso.com\/index.php\/2007\/04\/05\/meeting-italian-men-in-my-local-market\/"},"modified":"2011-09-02T11:10:21","modified_gmt":"2011-09-02T09:10:21","slug":"meeting-italian-men-in-my-local-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/04\/05\/meeting-italian-men-in-my-local-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting Italian Men in my Local Street Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re going to Berlin<\/strong> in two days – do you have any tips or suggestions of things I shouldn’t miss? Tell me in the comments! And have a good holiday if you get one!<\/p>\n

April is not turning out to be as magical as February or even March was, weather-wise. People were ready for a change in season and now Mother Nature has decided we won’t get our wish…just yet.<\/p>\n

Walking around the market close to my house a sunny day two weeks ago, I brought out the new camera so I could hopefully get a few shots of the fresh produce and play around. I knew better than to start snapping pictures and waited until I got the eye of someone working in the booth, indicated my camera, and hoped for a nod or at least a smile.<\/p>\n

There were many stall workers that wanted to pose for the camera, even though they weren’t my original target. Strangely, it was only the older ones. The younger ones were more skeptical, knowing that the pictures would probably end up in my dining room and not in a glamorous magazine. Worse, I might even be some undercover photographer doing an expose’ on market cleanliness or other corruption.<\/p>\n

A few of them even stipulated, “Not of the prices.”<\/p>\n

I assured them, “I’m here for the vegetables!”<\/p>\n

But the older men asked for their pictures to be taken. Maybe they still have hope of “being discovered” or were at least glad for the attention.<\/p>\n

So, here are my Market Men<\/strong>, and their wares.<\/p>\n

This Market Man is actually giving us a demonstration, which they often do if they have time, and explaining to us how to use the zucchine as a grenade.<\/p>\n

“You pull this pin like this…” he cocked back his arm like he was going to launch it at the next booth over. That booth owner noticed us gesticulating, noticed my camera, and wanted to get in on the fun.<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrating<\/a><\/p>\n

“Don’t waste your time with that guy! Come over here! We got fresh stuff!” Luckily, no grenades were actually launched in my presence. I want to get a few of these and make stuffed zucchini next time I go back. I’ve found they are called Tondo di Piacenza<\/a><\/em> or just tondo for short, or sometimes “Eight Ball” zucchine in English. I love their little round form.<\/p>\n

\"Eight<\/a><\/p>\n

This Market Man was giving out samples of melone<\/em>, canteloupe.<\/p>\n

“Can I take some pictures?” I pointed towards the fruit.<\/p>\n

“Why don’t you take a picture of him?” His booth mate started laughing.<\/p>\n

“Sure…can I?” He nodded his acquiescence, and stood shyly with the sun in his face. I love the little smile he’s giving me.<\/p>\n

\"Convincing<\/a><\/p>\n

It was an early morning sun breaking through that day and still casting shadows as it peeked over buildings and canopies. It really lit up the green and red tomatoes he was selling.<\/p>\n

\"Beautiful<\/a><\/p>\n

This guy was by far my favorite. I am actually in no danger of being hit by that flying apple, and he continued to do different poses for me while showing off in front of his customers and fellow stallmates.<\/p>\n

“What do you think? Should I throw it? Or just stand like this?” He kept laughing and talking.<\/p>\n

\"Attacking<\/a><\/p>\n

And boy, did he have some artichokes! These are Carciofi Romani<\/em>, the Roman artichoke variety. Can you see how big they are compared to the apples? I bet one could feed a family.<\/p>\n

\"Roman<\/a><\/p>\n

And Carciofi Sardi<\/em>, Sardinian artichokes. The annual Artichoke festival in Castroville<\/a> is going to happen in May – that’s pretty near my hometown. I once even sang a song about it with Burl Ives<\/a>. But that’s another story.<\/p>\n

\"Sardinian<\/a><\/p>\n

So, my Market Men, here’s been your 15 seconds of fame on my blog….I hope you enjoyed it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re going to Berlin in two days – do you have any tips or suggestions of things I shouldn’t miss? Tell me in the comments! And have a good holiday if you get one! April is not turning out to be as magical as February or even March was, weather-wise. People were ready for a…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,24,103,3,2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-behind-the-scenes","category-italian-culture","category-discovering-italy","category-food","category-italy","category-milan","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-58","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":382,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/08\/20\/discovering-puglia-and-sicily\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":0},"title":"Discovering Puglia and Sicily","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"August 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been spending time in Puglia, in the Manfredonia and Gargano areas this past week, delving into places I have no right to enter, and accosting strangers to share secrets and delicious aspects of life that I enjoy here in Puglia. It's funny, but I've found that since I started\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Colorful beach sellers in Puglia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1223\/1175460356_5ee78b4263.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2190,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/22\/milans-white-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":1},"title":"Milan’s White Christmas","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A snowstorm struck yesterday in Milan, one that sent my colleagues scurrying home at 4pm (we're usually in the office until 7pm) and none of them arrived home before their normal 7.30-8.00pm return time - there was that much casino craziness and traffic due to the 30+cm (10 inches) of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Little yellow car covered in snow, Milan, Italy, December 22, 2009","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2564\/4206069808_c2f9a8dfcd.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2542,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/30\/the-largest-cappuccino-in-italy\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":2},"title":"The largest cappuccino in Italy","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"April 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, I'm pretty sure it is the biggest cappuccino in Italy. I usually don't drink so much milk in the morning, preferring my beloved marocchino to the cappuccino, but one must always be open to making exceptions in life. See the juice on the left? It is dwarfed, and it's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The largest cappuccino in Italy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4005\/4564869245_99ba652a15_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":269,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/01\/02\/back-in-milan-heavier-and-lighter\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":3},"title":"Trullo in Puglia and a broken camera","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"January 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"We spent the last week in Puglia which was nice for my stomach and very bad for my waistline. My mother-in-law's mantra must be: Kill them with kindness and fresh pasta. Though I am a bit lighter, gadget-wise. My poor little digital camera, something that has been my companion for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Trulli","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/125\/342154393_c12ed86f88.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":515,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/10\/something-new-snapshots-of-italy\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":4},"title":"Something New: Snapshots of Italy","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"April 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I've had a lot of people comment to me, \"What happened to the cultural aspects of your blog, those little quirks of living in Italy like Santas gyrating to the Yellow Rose of Texas or wearing booties and a cap and nothing else at the gynecologist?\" Those moments still happen,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":332,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/02\/caption-me-rushing-through-spoleto\/","url_meta":{"origin":318,"position":5},"title":"Caption Me: Rushing Through Spoleto","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"May 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've just stepped off a train, back from the ponte, the long weekend. We were coming from Rome and I knew the craziness that surrounds the huge May 1 concert would make it hard for us to do a normal night train, so we got a cuccette. Ah, che bliss!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holiday"","block_context":{"text":"Holiday","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/italy\/holiday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In a Hurry","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/229\/481004714_4a6df4a830.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2236,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions\/2236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}