Fantastic food market! If you've ever gone to Campo di' Fiori to get a real, Roman food market…read moreexperience, you've been had. Campo di' Fiori has its charms and a lot of the food items sold are good, sure, but it's also crowded, and has a lot of tourists pretty much any time of year. But Mercato Trionfale is a different beast.
Located a stone's throw away from the Vatican (but in the "wrong direction", away from all the other tourist sites of Rome), it is located in what looks a bit like an industrial hall, and spans a full block. It doesn't look like much, but inside you'll find a fantastic choice of fresh produce, meat, cured products, kitchen wares, fish, fresh pasta, and much, much more. Don't expect any of the vendors to speak anything but Italian (a few do, but most don't), but a bit of pointing will get you a long way. Most vendors are cash-based, so bring lots of euros with you.
Mercato Trionfale isn't cheap, generally food ins't super-cheap in Italy. Italian don't eat as well as they do because their food is extremely cheap, but because they are among the countries in the world to spend the largest part of their disposable income on food.
Not that it's super expensive, either, but depending on where in the world you're from, you may not find that this place has dirt-cheap items. But it is very, very good. Once you've tried making a humble pasta with a tomato sauce and mozzarella, with all fresh, handmade pasta, fresh tomatoes (make sure you ask the vendor which are best for a sauce, called "sugo" in Italian), you'll never want to go back to anything else.
When you're done with your shopping, there are a number of small cafés around the market, that may lack a bit of picturesque-ness, but they make up for it in local charm and €0.80 espressos. If I was to recommend one really Roman experience, especially if you have a vacation home with a kitchen you you can cook, this would be it.
