Rome Guide hotels in Rome

Mercato Andrea Doria
Via Andrea Doria. M Ottaviano. Bus 23, 70. Open 7am-1pm Mon-Sat.
The market used to stretch the whole length of this wide avenue. It has now been reorganized! on to a huge square of open ground between Via Santamaura and Via Tunisi. Apart from the magnificent displays of fruit and vegetables, it has numerous stalls selling meat. poultry, fish and groceries, as well as an interesting clothes and shoe section. Situated northwest of the Vatican Museums, it is a little off the normal beaten track and has remained very much a Roman market that caters for the needs of the large local population.

Mercato Antiquaria dell' E.U.R.
Piazza Struzo. Open every third Sunday of month, from 10.00 AM until dawn
Every third Sunday in the heart of EUR, at Piazza Struzo, there is a fixed appiontement for always increasing number of exhibitor and impassioned which can be also defined like real landmark in the antique trade panorama of quality in the City of Rome.

Campo de' Fiori
Piazza Campo de' Fiori.
Bus 44, 46. 62. 64, 70, 81, 90, 90b, 492.
Open 7am-1.30pm Mon-Sat.
Right in the heart of the old city, Rome's most picturesque market is also its most historical. Its name, Campo de' Fiori, which translates as field of flowers, sometimes misleads people into expecting a flower market. In fact the name is said to derive from Campus Florae (Flora's square) - Flora being the lover of the great Roman general Pompey. A market has actually been held in this now rather shabby, but still beautiful, piazza for many centuries.Every morning, except Sunday, the piazza is transformed by an array of stalls selling colourful fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. One or two stalls specialize in pulses, rice, dried fruit and nuts and there are also flower stalls situated'near the fountain. But the huge open baskets of ready-stripped broccoli and spinach, chopped vegetables for minestrone an,d freshly prepared green salad mixes are the main attraction for visitors. They provide a real visual display as well as an edible feast.
The excellent delicatessen shops on the square, and bread shops nearby, complement the market. They make it a great place to stock up for an impromptu picnic if the weather turns out fine and you're tempted to do some al fresco dining in one of Rome's many attractive parks.

Mercato dei Fiori
ViaTrionfale.M Ottaviano. Bus 23, 70. Open 10.30am-1pm Tue.
Essentially a trade market, the Flower Market, just north of Via Andrea Doria, is open to the public only on Tuesdays. Housed in a covered hall, it has two floors brimming over with cut flowers •upstairs and all kinds of pot plants on the lower floor. Anyone who has an interest in flowers will enjoy this wonderful array of Mediterranean blooms, which are on sale at giveaway prices.

Mercato di Fontanella Borghese
Piazza Borghese
da Lunedì a Sabato, dalle 9.00 alle 19.00
Monday-Saturday, 9am-7pm

Mercato delle Stampe
Largo della Fontanella di Borghese.
Open 7am-1pm Mon-Sat. »
This market is a veritable haven for lovers of old prints, books (both genuine antiquarian and less-exalted second-hand), magazines and other printed ephemera. The quality varies, but it is a good deal more specialized than the banche or stalls near Termini station which are a more obvious tourist trap. Italian-speaking collectors can enjoy a field day leafing through back issues of specialist magazines. Other visitors might prefer the wonderful selection of illustrated art books and old prints of Rome. It is a good place to pick up that Piranesi print of your favourite Roman vista, ruin or church - but be prepared to bargain hard.

Mercato di Piazza Vittorio
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. M Vittorio Emanuele. Tram 14, 256 Bus 105. Open 7am-2pm Mon-Sat.
Bustling Piazza Vittorio was, until recently, perhaps the most Roman of the city's larger markets.Organized as a cramped corridor of stalls around a central garden, it is the place where bargain-hunting popolari, Rome's bustling shoppers, buy their food. Stallholders offer cheap prices if you buy by the kilo, but watch out for bad fruit.Lately it has become more international and now features African and Asian food stalls.Sadly, the market's days are numbered, as the city council says that it defaces the 19th-century square. Some stalls have moved to the new site in Via Gioiitu; others won't go. The battle is on, but make a visit before a splash of Roman colour is lost for ever.

Mercato di Testaccio
Piazza Testaccio. M Piramide.Bus 11, 27. Open 7.30am-1.30pm Mon-Sat.

The covered market at Testaccio occupies the central area of its j eponymous piazza. The few cheap i clothing and shoe stalls skirting the outside are unremarkable, but the inside is well worth a visit. Lined with butchers, grocers and fishmongers, the whole central area is given over to fruit and vegetables - a theatre-set array of seductive colours and textures. Very popular with local residents, it offers super-fresh, high-quality produce and reasonable prices. Much of this market's charm for visitors lies in its compact size and relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

Porta Portese
Viale Trastevere
Domenica, dalle 5.00 alle 100
Sundays, 5am-2pm

The mercato delle pulci or flea market is a relatively new market |n Roman terms. Established shortly after the end of World War II, it is said to have grown out of the thriving black market that operated at Tor di Nona opposite Castel Sant'Angeto during those lean years. Stallholders come from as far away as Naples and set up Shop in the early hours of the morning - if you are strolling in that direction after a late night in Trastevere, it's well worth pausing just to watch them.Anything and everything seems to be for sale, piled high on stalls gin carefully arranged disorder - clothes, shoes, bags, luggage, camping equipment, linen, towels,pans, kitchen utensils, plants, pets, spare parts, cassettes and CD's, old LPs and 78s.Furniture stalls tend to be concentrated around Piazza Ippotito Nievo along with what they call "antiques", though you may have to sort through an awful tot of junk before finding a real one. And then you will have to bargain for it. The technique is to offer them half the asked price and then walk away. A lot of people go just for the fun of it and always end up buying something.There are also second-hand clothes - leather or sheepskin coats and jackets go for L.10,000 - with many of the Via Sannio stall holders relocating here for the Sunday trade. The stretch along Via Ippolito Nievo is monopolized by i Russi di Porta Portese', immigrant Russian stallholders selling caviar, icons (authenticity uncertain), lace, other ethnic handicrafts, old cameras and binoculars. A must if you have a Sunday morning to spare.

Mercato di Via Sannio
Via Sannio. Metro: San Giovanni ; Bus 16. 81. 87. Open 8am-1pm Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm Sat.
In the 1960s and 1970s this used to be Italy's answer to Carnaby Street. Today, at first glance, it doesn't seem to have anything ; very special to offer — random stalls selling inexpensive casual clothes, shoes, bags, belts, jewelry, toys, kitchen utensils and music cassettes. But towards ; the end of the street there is a - large covered section which r extends back to the Aurelian Wall with many stalls piled high with second-hand clothes at very low prices for those who like to rummage. There is also asection that sells military-style goods plus some camping and fishing equipment.Some of these stalls move their wares to Porta Portese on a Sunday morning.