What Is Mercato di Mezzo in Bologna?

A market site since medieval times

The ground has held a market since medieval times. After the Unification of Italy it became the city's first covered market, and it was redeveloped in 2014. That date matters for a visitor, because the market you see today is a modern food hall inside a very old setting, not a traditional produce market.

The address is Via Clavature 12, a short street inside the Quadrilatero. Bologna Welcome also lists tasting sessions and meetings on food culture at the market, so the hall is used for more than lunch.

How it works

Mercato di Mezzo runs like a food court. You walk past counters, order from different vendors and carry your plate to shared tables in the centre. Nobody expects a single sit-down meal, so two or three small orders from different counters is the normal way to eat there.

One building, one district, one second market

The Quadrilatero is an area of medieval origin with a craft and trading tradition. It lies between Via Rizzoli, Via dell'Archiginnasio, Via Farini and Via Castiglione. Mercato di Mezzo is a single hall inside it. Mercato delle Erbe is a different covered market on Via Ugo Bassi, and some tours visit it instead.

The table below sets the three side by side, using the addresses and dates published by Bologna Welcome.

Three streets, three old trades

Via Drapperie was the textile street, Via Clavature the blacksmith street and Via Pescherie Vecchie the fish street. Mercato di Mezzo sits on Via Clavature, so one short walk takes in all three names.

Food trade here is old. The Salaroli guild of salt, cured meat and cheese merchants had as many as 281 shops by 1294. That is why the district still reads as the city's pantry, and why a tasting walk here puts cured meat and cheese at the centre.

Mortadella in the old shops

Cardinal Girolamo Farnese laid down rules for mortadella production on 24 October 1661, and Bologna celebrates Mortadella Day on 24 October. If you visit near that date, the cured meat counters are the place to ask about it.

A simple way to order

Start with one Bologna dish, tortellini in brodo, and add a mortadella sandwich or a plate of cured meat.

If you want the market explained rather than guessed, a tasting walk does the ordering for you. The Secret Food Tours Bologna Food and Market Tour covers mortadella, tigella, lasagna verde, 2 pastas, local wines, a digestif and dessert.

How the two markets differ

Bologna Welcome calls Mercato delle Erbe the largest covered market in the historic centre. The present hall on Via Ugo Bassi was built in 1910 and reopened after wartime damage in 1949. Parts of it became a food court in 2014, the same year Mercato di Mezzo was redeveloped.

Mercato di Mezzo sits inside the Quadrilatero streets, while Mercato delle Erbe is the larger hall on Via Ugo Bassi. Mercato Centrale is a separate market hall again, so check its address before you set out.

Four walks that include the market

The table compares four options that name the Quadrilatero or Mercato delle Erbe in their stops. Duration, group size and price come from the tour listings, and each price is per person.

All four are tastings, not just walks. The Delicious Bologna Small-Group Food Tour meets at Piazza di Porta Ravegnana 2a at 9.55am and walks the Quadrilatero food market and the main square. The Taste Bologna Food Tour walks through Mercato delle Erbe and the Quadrilatero with a maximum of 10 guests. The Private Market Tour and Pasta Class is private, and the market walk is an option you choose.

Which one suits you

For a shorter morning, the Secret Food Tours option has a 2-hour express version. For the most eating, the 4.5-hour Delicious Bologna walk adds a pasta factory visit and a 3-pasta lunch. If you also want to cook, the private class combines the Quadrilatero market with a home pasta lesson.

For the full list, see the bologna food tour comparison.