The Best Farmers Market In Rome And Around Italy

The best farmers market in Rome is the annual Coldiretti Village, an amazing farmers market that celebrates the best Italian cuisine directly from the farmers.

Farmers Market In Rome - The Best — Greatest Farmers Market

Recently, we had the opportunity to attend a celebration of the best food in Italy and the farmers who bring it from farm to market everyday. The reputation of Italy and its food is well known around the world, but attending this hugely popular event in Rome gave me an opportunity to compare and contrast the differences in how food is viewed between Italy and the USA.

What Is The Coldiretti Village?

The Coldiretti Village returned to Circus Maximus in Rome this past October. Coldiretti is the main union for farmers at national and European level and was created to promote the biodiversity and sustainability of Italian agriculture and the quality of Made In Italy agri-food. This festival opened in the heart of one of the most iconic sites in Rome, where you could discover farms and taste the best 100% Italian specialties.

The Coldiretti Village represents the meeting between the world of agriculture and society, the place of local food, meeting, dialogue and community. The event therefore has the aim of bringing together farmers and citizens, the world of agri-food with institutions.

Who Is Working At Coldiretti Village?

One of the biggest differences between the US and Italy in an enormous food event like this is who is working the stalls. In the US, I would expect various restaurants or giant agri-businesses to be there promoting their products. Here in Rome, almost all the stalls (or booths) were being run by the individual farmers selling the products from their farms and their regions. Their booths are grouped by region so that you can tell if you are buying peaches from Sicily or Orecchietti from Puglia.

Farmers Market In Rome - No restaurants — No Noticeable Advertising

There are also prepared Italian foods, wine and beer to enjoy for only a few €, and these are not managed by restaurants, they are operated (I am assuming) by Coldiretti staff.

I mentioned above that “almost” all the stalls were being run by farmers or the Coldiretti staff, and that is because we did see one sad looking stall with a McDonalds logo on it. I don’t expect that they were selling food, but probably just promoting themselves and their “Made In Italy” claims. Also, they were a sponsor of the event, so they were probably entitled to have a space, but when we were there, nobody was in the booth, apart from some unopened boxes of literature.

Farmers Market In Rome - Ripe Olives — Ripe Olives Ready To Go!

What Can You See At Coldiretti’s Farmers Market In Rome?

The short answer is: Italian Food, but there is so much more. This festival fills Circus Maximus, which is saying something because even popular concerts seem to only fill the space to 67% of capacity. It is arranged in long rows of stalls that are offering:

Prepared Italian Food, including grilled meats, fish and pasta
Tastings and Sale of Wine and Artisanal Beer
Tastings and Sale of Olive Oil
Products From Farms Across Italy
Cooking School
Concert Stage

Farmers Market In Rome- Live Music — Live Music

What Is Meant By Coldiretti?

Coldiretti (Confederazione nazionale dei coltivatori diretti) is the main national agricultural union at national level in Italy and it was established in November 1944. It represents agricultural businesses, direct farmers, professional agricultural entrepreneurs, agricultural companies, fisheries businesses and entrepreneurs, consortia, cooperatives , associations and any other entity and person operating in the agricultural, fishing, agri-food, environmental and rural sectors, at a national, European and international level.

How Many Members Does Coldiretti Have?

It assists and protects the social, technical-economic, trade union, tax, labor and small rental regulation sector activities. Coldiretti is strongly rooted in the territory, with 19 regional and 97 provincial and inter-provincial federations, more than 724 area offices and 5668 peripheral sections, with over 20,000 territorial managers, who are the reference for the absolute majority of Italian agricultural companies.

Coldiretti is also growing its presence, which includes 69% of the agricultural businesses registered with the Chambers of Commerce, associated with organizations with the absolute majority of the cultivated agricultural surface, of the animals raised and of the agricultural GDP. As of 2011 Coldiretti was able to claim 1,500,000 members.

Farmers Market In Rome - Cooking School — Cooking School

How Important Is Coldiretti Village?

Thousands of Italian farmers brought to life the Coldiretti Village in Rome, which is dedicated to enhancing tradition and innovation in Italian agriculture in what promised to be the largest zero kilometer market ever held in Italy.

On the occasion of the initiative, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella sent the following message to the president of the Coldiretti National Confederation, Ettore Prandini:

“The Coldiretti Village, in Rome, represents an opportunity for dialogue with the city to present the products of a food supply chain, competitive on international markets, of which farmers are legitimately proud. The quality of food has become one of the typical characteristics of our country and our culture and is a consequence of the choice to pursue resilient and sustainable agriculture”.

Arriving at Coldiretti Village after a 23-hour flight, Prime Minister (Presidente del Consiglio) Giorgia Meloni received a standing ovation from the gathered masses and shared this thought:

“We have concentrated on defending Italian excellence from the many attacks aimed at homologation. They want to sell the same product to everyone, but they won’t succeed because for us specificity is fundamental, it is the greatness of Italy as is the work that we have defended and we also encourage in maneuver”

More Celebrations Of The Traditional Cuisine Of Italy

One of my passions, and to be honest, one of my reasons for wanting to move to Italy, is the amazing Italian food. The quality and passion that Italians have for their cuisine has always been something to behold and having attended the Coldiretti Village festival was an experience that I will never forget because I believe it is the best farmers market in Rome. If you were interested in some other posts about the best food in Italy, check out some of these posts: