The Erbe Market, Bologna, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

The Erbe Market (Mercato delle Erbe) is a covered food market in Bologna, just off the city's main shopping streets, built in the early 1900s. It is still a place where locals shop for produce and where the evening aperitivo tradition plays out on the streets around it.

The story behind it

The market went up in the early twentieth century to give a permanent roof to the merchants who traded around Piazza Maggiore, the city's main square. Like many covered markets in Italian cities, it was meant to bring food sellers under one roof and out of the weather.

Today the streets around it are tied to another Italian habit, the aperitivo, the drink and snack before dinner. The modern form of it is often traced to 1786, when Antonio Benedetto Carpano began selling vermouth in Turin and the fashion spread across Italy. Over time, olives and crisps grew into small buffets served with a drink. In Bologna, some bars give the Aperol Spritz a local turn by using Pignoletto, a sparkling wine from the hills around the city, instead of Prosecco.

What to look for

• The covered structure itself, a working market building from the early 1900s that shows how the city organised its food trade.
• The produce, cheese and cured meat stalls, which give a good sense of what Bolognese kitchens cook with.
• The bars and cafes on the surrounding streets, where the aperitivo crowd gathers in the early evening.
• The colour of a Spritz on the tables outside, and whether the bar has made it with Pignoletto.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 30 to 45 minutes to walk through and look around, longer if you stop for a drink or a snack.
• Come in the late afternoon or early evening if you want to see the aperitivo scene at its liveliest.
• The market is a short walk from Piazza Maggiore and the Two Towers, so it fits easily into a day on foot.
• Opening times vary by stall and by day, so check current opening hours before you go.

See it on a quest

The market is one of the places you reach on foot on Bologna: Revenge of the Tortellini, a self-guided quest through the city with a food theme. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the market and its streets more closely than a quick pass would allow. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join. One ticket covers the whole group.