Another day, another market: Tuscolana III (Quadraro)

Inside the Tuscolana III market, the stands were attracting a large crowd on a weekday morning, the produce beautifully displayed, in all its colors.

We've written in the past about Rome's still thriving--or at least still standing--public markets, among them Trionfale (#1 as rated in an article in the daily paper Il Messaggero), Testaccio, Ponte Milvio, Piazza Vittorio (displaced from its place of origin and now called il Nuovo Esquilino, rated #2), even the older and smaller via Catania, and the still outdoor San Giovanni di Dio. We were a bit baffled to read about the market in 3rd place (Tuscolana III, pictured above) in terms of stands and stima--an estimate of what we're not sure, but probably annual sales, given it's in Euros. It has, according to Il Messaggero, 113 banchi or stands (to Trionfale's 247) and una stima di 12.4 million Euros (to Trionfale's E27.2 million),

It was a Tuesday morning, one of the 2 days/week (the other Friday, of course) when fish are sold. This display--one of several pescarie in the market--was particularly showy.

Tuscolana III also is called the Quadraro Market, which puzzled us even more, since we've been all over what we think of as Quadraro, and have never seen a market of this size.

Of course, we had to venture forth, find it, and scope it out. Turns out it sits in the middle of a neighborhood we had visited several times that includes Tuscolana I, II, and III. The area is about 3 to 5 miles--straight out the Metro A line--from the Centro, with housing for 18,000-25,000 people--enough to support a market. 

Externally, not quite so inviting. The Brutalist architecture reflects its origins in the 1960s. It opened in 1964. The neighborhood, built in the early 1950s, originally sported a spontaneous open-air market (featured in the Pasolini 1962 film Mamma Roma with Anna Magnani as a former sex worker who uses her savings to become a respectable fruit and vegetable seller).

Il Messaggero also bemoaned empty stalls, reporting 1 of every 4 stalls in the city markets are unoccupied. We've seen that--and likely more--at the via Catania market (between Piazza Bologna and the University), but Tuscolana III seemed fuller than that statistic would dictate. Until we looked more closely. It may not be 1/4 that are empty, but there are quite a few "stands" that now are dedicated to other uses.

Half a dozen or more banchi now sport tables and chairs, allowing needed spots to sit down and enjoy some of the products.

In addition to traditional stalls, there are stalls that reflect contemporary buying tastes.  One advertised the boxed produce delivery options that are popular in the US and the UK. 

Another had labels from meat delivery boxes, showing the international sources of their products.

And others tout their longevity:

Another feature of Italian markets is the labelling of the city where the product is sourced--not just the country, which is required by EU and Italian law.

The "Sicilian" broccoli is from Avezzano in L'Aquila (Abruzzo)
 and the cauliflower from Cerveteri, near Rome.

Italians also prize what Americans call "locavore," locally produced products: 

Here, the eggs are "KM 0" - "kilometer zero" -
meaning they did not come from far away;
the equivalent in Italy of locavore.

All the markets we've seen also feature other types of shops too:

A general store, a tailor, and a closed hairdresser.

We first headed to the market bar--expecting it to be as good as the one in via Catania. But it was in a dark and dingy corner. We went outside, to a bar across the street, where it seemed both market workers and patrons also were going. Then came back to shop.

Would you rather have your coffee here? with the wash bucket and mop, or....

here?

Cheap wine for sale--this may be the cheapest we've seen:

That works out to $1.20/bottle.

A final outside photo from another angle, in this one the letters SPQR, indicating it's sponsored by the City of Rome, and a statement "Tuscolano III market protects the environment":

And what about the name "Quadraro" and what we think of as Quadraro?  Let's say the area is very loosely Quadraro-adjacent, and save the explanation for another day.

Dianne

To get to the Tuscolano III/Quadraro market, take the Metro A line out to either Numidio Quadrato or Lucio Sestio and walk about a block south on via del Quadraro.