Mercato delle Erbe: Bologna Travel Guide (4.3★)

Under the roof on Via Ugo Bassi

Mercato delle Erbe is Bologna’s main covered market. The entrance is on Via Ugo Bassi, a long arcaded street running west from Piazza Maggiore. Inside, one big hall holds rows of stalls selling fruit and vegetables, cured meats, cheeses and fish, with places to eat mixed in.

It isn’t a secret. The market is one of the most-reviewed food stops in the city and it’s consistently well rated. Treat it as a working market that also gets plenty of visitors, and plan your timing around that.

What to look for at the counters

The stalls are mostly about Emilia-Romagna produce. Bologna’s own staples are the ones to look for:

• Mortadella, the city’s signature cured meat, sliced to order
• Parmigiano Reggiano, sold by the wedge at different ages
• Squacquerone, a soft fresh cheese from Romagna
• Fresh pasta like tortellini and tagliatelle, if a pasta counter is trading
• Seasonal fruit and vegetables from the green grocers’ rows

A single lap takes around 20 minutes. Give it an hour if you want to eat in the market or put together a picnic.

Timing, and where it sits

The market is open Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7:30pm, and closed all day Sunday. That catches out a lot of weekend visitors, so plan a Sunday food stop somewhere else.

The quietest window is 7am to 9am, on weekdays and on Saturday. That’s also when the stalls are fully stocked. Don’t turn up on a Saturday between 11am and 7pm unless you’re happy to queue at every counter and squeeze down the aisles.

Walking from Piazza Maggiore takes under ten minutes. From Bologna Centrale station it’s around 15 minutes on foot. Put it together with the Quadrilatero, the old market lanes east of the piazza, for a morning of food shopping in the historic centre.

Buying like a Bolognese shopper

Don’t handle the produce yourself. At Italian market stalls the vendor picks the fruit and vegetables for you. Point, or ask before you touch anything: “Posso?” (“May I?”).

Order by weight in etti. Meat and cheese are sold in etti, units of 100 grams. “Un etto di mortadella” gets you enough for two sandwiches, and “due etti” is double. Asking for “affettato sottile” gets it sliced thin.

Work out how the queue runs. If a counter has a ticket dispenser, take a number and wait to be called. If it doesn’t, ask “Chi è l’ultimo?” (“Who’s last?”) and go after that person.

Paying. Many stalls take cards, but carry some coins for small buys at the produce counters. Nobody expects a tip at the counters. Say “buongiorno” when you walk up and “grazie” when you leave, which is the basic courtesy at any Bologna shop.

Buying to travel. For aged Parmigiano or mortadella you’re flying home with, ask for it “sottovuoto” (vacuum-packed). Plenty of cheese and meat counters in Bologna offer this. Check your destination’s customs rules first.