Italy Panorama

Grocery Shops Decoded

The best places to go for the freshest local ingredients in season are usually just a short walk away.  Italians take cooking very seriously, so the main shopping experience you find in even the smallest of hamlets is focused on the food shops.

Fruttivendolo

Your smallest shops are the fruttivendolo where you buy fresh fruits and vegetables, where the goods are almost exclusively locally grown and in season.  They are generally scattered about in neighborhoods, but are often so small they are easy to miss unless they have crates of goodies set up outside.  The proprietor will likely tuck in some herbs or garlic to season your sauce with.

Similar to the fruttivendolo is the macelleria for meats and the forno for breads. These establishments are small but the owners make them unique with their personal service.  They will grind meat fresh on demand, and cut off the size of loaf you desire in a flash.

A neighborhood grocery is the alimentari which may carry fruits, vegetables, bread, milk, and some other items – but especially cured meats and cheeses. These shops are family run and the proprietors are always knowledgeable about their products, and often know who produced the local delicacies (if their own family didn’t make them!).

The supermercato is a regular grocery store, larger than an alimentari shop, yet often still located in a neighborhood.  They are usually locally owned but aligned with a national consortium for buying power.

A typical alimentari interior

At the top of the food chain (pun intended) is the ipermercato, the Italian rendition of the superstore. They are enormous and carry a little bit of everything yet lack the personal one-to-one service you will find at the smaller neighborhood establishments. These stores may stand alone form the central focus at a centro commerciale (shopping mall).  Selection is huge, but they often carry national products rather than locally grown or produced goods.

In a historic center you can locate all the primary ingredients you need from the small locally owned shops, along with the weekly mercato.  It’s a pleasant experience to walk between the small shops, interact with the owners, and maybe stop for a caffe along the way.