A must see in Florence for every foodie is Mercato Centrale, or central market where fresh produce, meats, fish & cheese are in abundance and you can pick up all sorts of seasonal delights you can use to create delicious Italian meals. From farm to kitchen for your pleasure at a place I love to waste time just browsing, this is the kind of Italy that everyone wants to be a part of including all sorts of stands featuring Italy’s favorites: mozzarella di bufala, pizza from the south, a Chianti wine tasting corner, gelato & chocolate stand, veggie stand where you can get freshly squeezed juice and veggie soup puree, fresh seafood, fresh pasta, bread and my-oh-my so much more.

Mercato Centrale Firenze made one of its most important locations public again: the first floor of the covered market in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood. The project became a reality in spring 2014, marking the 140th anniversary of the iron and glass building erected in 1874 according to a design by architect Giuseppe Mengoni – also responsible for the San Ambrogio market and the more famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan.

Mercato Centrale Firenze not only revives an area of the city left deserted for many years, but fulfils an extremely relevant and necessary goal: to bring people back to a highly important and vibrant piece of Florence’s old centre, with traditional shops that give food artisans centre stage. Bread and confectionary, fresh fish, fried food and rissoles, fruit and vegetables, meats and salamis, buffalo mozzarella, cheeses, chocolate and ice cream, fresh pasta, wines, lampredotto and sandwiches: all shops are run by artisanal traders who share a passion for their craft.

if not in Florence, do come visit us in Singapores Cluny Court or Marina Square!With sunny greetings from Italy and „alla prossima volta“!

Yours,

Alfie Browns

Foodie Heaven at Mercato Centrale