From the medieval Quadrilatero to the Mercato delle Erbe: where the food capital does its shopping.
Explore → Get Early AccessThe Quadrilatero's medieval market lanes still sell what the guild streets were named for — cheese towers, hanging mortadella, fish on ice under 13th-century porticoes — now with wine bars threaded between the stalls for shopping with a glass in hand.
These alleys have hosted Bologna's food trade for a thousand years — the street names (Pescherie Vecchie, Orefici, Drapperie) are the medieval guild map still in use, and the Mercato di Mezzo hall has anchored it since the Middle Ages.
Mortadella's name likely comes from the Roman 'mortarium' used to pound the pork; the real thing is silk-smooth, scented with whole peppercorns and pistachio, and eaten in cubes with a toothpick at aperitivo — cooked ham it is not.
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Join food lovers discovering authentic Bologna. Get our guide to real ragù, traditional osterie, and local markets.
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