Our Favorite 2nd Hand Markets in Italy

This week's episode is about our favorite second hand shops and antique markets in Italy. Among other things, you'll hear about:

-Where you can find a suit of armor 

-The market near one of our favorite Roman bakeries

-The no-name market in a HUGE ancient monastery

Join us to hear all about our favorite secondhand shops and antique markets! 

Want to know more about us and our travel services? Find us at: 

www.LittleRoadsEurope.com

www.facebook.com/LittleRoadsEurope

We craft small-town driving itineraries for travelers to Italy, Ireland and Scotland.

And our "alter-egos" as musicians:

www.OrsiniVirtuosi.it

Transcript

2nd Hand Mercatino podcast notes

Note: This is not a complete transcript, but rather the show notes we write in advance to prepare for the episode. 

INTRO: 

Welcome to Little Roads Unfiltered: Italy and Beyond

Today we’re talking about the “Mercato Usato - 2nd hand shops and markets in Italy. Which are our favorites, and what little treasures we’ve found at them. 

Among other things, you’ll hear about:

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[music up then down to 20%]

This is Matt Walker          …and I’m Zeneba Bowers - 

We’re recording while sitting on the terrace of our tiny home in Italy - so you’ll get a sense of the sounds of life in our little town - complete with traffic, church bells, cats meowing, motor scooters and trains and neighbors chatting and whatever else.

“ … we’ll be talking about Italian 2nd hand shops in today’s chat - here on Little Roads Unfiltered: Italy and Beyond.”

[Music up then fade out]

For those of you who don’t know us: We are professional musicians and also travel writers and consultants, living and working here in Italy for the past 6 years. 

If you want to learn more about us and our lives, you can find us on our website LittleRoadsEurope..com, on our socials, and now here on our podcast…

…and by the way, we hope you like our intro music - ecc ecc

So let’s get to talking about the Italian Mercato Usato:

- Retro: Outside of Orte. Just opened in the last year. Found Gina Lollobrigida’s “Italia Mia” there. Read that book as a child. Incredible to see these photos now, that we have made this our home. I also found a great Soriano plate here, etched with the picture of the Orsini castle you see across from our terrace. I am always on the hunt for this kind of stuff. 

- Il Mercante in Fiera: Capranica. Several outdoor spaces, and indoor rooms. Really unusual assortment of buildings kind of strewn together. Several rooms of books. We found a stack of records there for our grammofono, which you hear as the bumper music for this podcast. They usually have a couple of gramophones there, actually. And a suit of armor. And they are right next door to a really old school local restaurant, with a roaring fire in the dining room. 

- “No Name”: Just south of the Hurra supermercato in Frangellini, east of Gallese (near Agriturismo Frangellini). It is only open on weekends. There is no sign, you just drive into the parking area and there is an open door. Inside is a treasure trove of paintings, armoires, light fixtures, chairs, ceramics…..just a ton of stuff. We found a beautiful carved wooden table there, that we then had delivered to the house. Table cost 40 and the delivery was another 20. 

- Vintag-E Negozio Vintage e Antiquariato: Campagnano di Roma. Not far north of Rome, this store is two levels, and very memorable because it is so well curated. Beautiful antique furniture and glassware, artworks, rugs, carefully presented and laid out so it’s easy to peruse. 

- La Fiera Dell'Usato Di Lattanzi Fabiola: Bagnoregio. This place is full of dishware, some furniture, glassware, a few antiques, but mostly things from the last century. Good place to go if you are looking for kitchen items, linens, or glassware. 

- Mercatino usato chi cerca trova Towards Montefiascone, across from gas station that makes good baked goods

- Mercatino Caiazza: This one is just south of Viterbo, and is mostly outside. A lot of terra cotta, light fixtures, glassware, and copper. Most of the stuff has been sitting outside, but there are a few indoor spaces. We found some really nice, cheap copper vessels that we use as planters on our terrace and front step. 

- Mercatino Usato "Il Portale”: Just outside Viterbo town to the west, near thermal bath park. Tons of pictures, paintings, glassware, ceramics, plates, with some antique furniture, and one section of more modern things. This one is a good one if you are looking for artwork. We found 5 framed photos of Soriano here, photos from before the major bombing of June 5 1944, that are now hanging on our wall. A major score. 

- Mercatino Usato Roma Talenti: northeast Rome, within the GRA, not far from Porta di Roma. Kind of a collection of everything, really stuffed to the gills with things, mostly from the last 100 years or so. Expensive things are locked in glass cases. On the shelves you will find a bit of everything. About a block away from one of our favorite Roman bakeries, that make the best maritozzi, but you have to get there in the morning or they are all sold out. 

- Officina 18: outside Chiusi. Probably my favorite we have found. Carefully curated, mostly art deco stuff, and quirky vintage clothing. Found two huge hand knit scarves there, for €3 each. Floriana got one and I got one. Also found a beautiful lamp from Egypt. Have sent many clients there since it is so well-ordered and affordable. 

These are just places in our area. 

We’ll be searching out other places like this on our upcoming research trip to the northern Lakes: FOLLOW US ON OUR TRIP, STARTING APRIL 27

OUTRO:

I think that’s a good place to wrap it up here - we hope you enjoyed joining us for our chat about used markets in our area!

If you enjoyed what you’ve heard, please give us a like or a good rating on your favorite platform, and tell your friend about us… 

And don’t forget our Ask Us Anything, ecc ecc

We talk about a wide variety of topics here on this podcast, from travel tips to slice-of-life stories - and we post new episodes every Tuesday. 

So catch us next time - we’ll see you down the Little Roads… CIAO!