Ah, Italy. A place where markets with baskets of perfect tomatoes spill out of every piazza and the sun always shines. La vita è bella.
Except when it isn’t. Torrential rain led to mudslides in Liguria and northern Tuscany, with devastating consequences. In Friuli, hail storms ruined the grape harvest in the Collio. And when there wasn’t weather to worry about, there was that whole financial mess. And political crisis.
Italians, they’re just like us.
They also shop at grocery stores. Not all the time, and not for everything, but often enough to keep grocery stores in business. These stores exist amid vacation villas and utilitarian apartment complexes, ancient Roman roads and modern autostrade. Now before the purists start muttering about global homogenization, I’ll say this: When you’re on the road and need a few basics, these places come in handy.
Plus, these stores aren’t quite homogenized, at least not to US code. Not when you look closer. I took the following photos while in Italy earlier this year. They’re not in any way stylistic or even very pretty, but they show an honest side of contemporary Italian life not often seen in books or on TV. Modern Italians are finding ways to coexist within tradition, and as these ingredients indicate, they’re not ready to give up home cooking any time soon.
Exhibit A: The meat counter.
Rabbit, ready for the pot.
Bones and tendons for making brodo, broth.
Veal brain
And yes, horse meat (equino). But maybe it’s not that popular? I’m trying to figure out why they’d need to give away an iPad. (Scopri e vinci! = discover and win!)
Exhibit B: Dried fruit and nuts (from all over the world)
Prunes and Brazil nuts. Since the prunes don’t have pits, I bet they’re from California.
Oregon hazelnuts. Suppose they are OK with removing the skins themselves.
Exhibit C: Pasta
OMG, fresh store-bought pasta? I guess not everyone has a nonna at home making it.
Exhibit D: the butter aisle
Lots of butter choices, plus egg whites by the carton (albume d’uovo)
*pictures taken from stores in Lazio (the region around Rome) and the Veneto (Padua, to be specific). For the record, I saw horse meat in both areas.
