words and photography: Erin McKinney
What if I told you that there was a place in Trieste where you could purchase your fill of fresh local produce along with delicacies from all over Italy, shop for second hand items while having your old shoes repaired and a new set of keys made?
Shop for oil and wine while having a pair of pants sewn, and have a coffee or a spritz at a bar while mingling with some of the finest Triestini characters in town, and that this was all to be found under one roof? Too good to be true, right?
Well that place does exist and it’s fittingly called the Mercato Coperto (Covered Market), located in Via Carducci 36. Now I wouldn’t exactly call this a bustling market as of today. Sadly, a lot of this unique 1930s modernist style building is abandoned and unused, especially since the days of the pandemic, but if you stay under its cover for long enough, you’ll soon discover the hidden charm.
When I moved to Trieste about 7 years ago I thought it would be a great place to practice my Italian. However, the first few times after visiting it I would head home feeling confused and having some items in my shopping bag that were even more confusing. Finally someone pointed out that no one there was actually speaking proper Italian to me.
I was instead hearing the local Triestine dialect mixed in with accents from Napoli, Sicily, Puglia, etc. Now each time I go, I learn something different about the building, the sellers, or even a new recipe. But the real treasure for me is the little bar in the corner, or better yet, that little bar’s loyal patrons.
The bar itself has been open for 23 years, run by Paolo who serves all of the usual things you would find in any other venue. However, if you look at the tables next to it, all draped in the classic red and white checker board table clothes, you’ll find a lovely bunch of regulars drinking their wine while snacking on food they brought from home, spending the morning together which seems like something straight out of a film.
You can sometimes even catch them cooking on a small single plate electric stove that’s tucked in among the vendor’s tables. People come and go throughout the morning and it’s somehow delightfully and intriguingly uneventful. So next time you need to run some errands and buy some groceries, head over to the Mercato Coperto and take a stroll up and down the few remaining colorful lanes of sellers and then spend a moment at the little bar. The building itself may seem a bit empty, but the gang you’ll find hanging around there have got plenty of time, a wealth of stories, and a plethora of wine to share with you to make the place feel alive.
Very interesting Article on Mercato Coperto.