San Benedetto Market

In Cagliari there is a very characteristic market. The part that I prefer is the fish market, with its kiosks and fishermen screaming to attract my attention and to promote their products. But the real reason why I like it, is because without even thinking, I know that it is probably the most alive and authentic spot of Cagliari. You can feel it. All my senses tell me that I’m home. There I can really taste, see, and touch my home town, but mostly I can hear and ..smell it. If you go to Cagliari don’t miss the opportunity to see one of the biggest fish markets in Italy.

At the end of this post I’ll give you directions, but if you want to drive there you better park far away or go early. From about 11am till 2pm it gets quite busy. Better don’t take the car and walk around Via Dante or Via Pergolesi for some shopping.

In the market you can find any Sardinian food and buy good wine as well. Vendors will try to talk to you and will start packing something before you even ask! Lately the markets layout was changed and I don’t know exactly how it looks like, but fishmongers use to be in the ground floor, meat, fruits and vegetables on the first.

You will find people rushing with a plastic bag in every finger, looking for the best deal. Plenty of people speaking the local dialect with its very strong accent and a characteristic sound. In Cagliari’s dialect the seabream is called “carina”, seabass is “spirrittu”, mullet is “lissa”, then there are other fishes of which I do not know the English name like “mummungioni”, “giarrettu”, “sparedda”, “scropula” etc. Hundreds of different species all good to eat.

I will post some recipes for fish sooner or later.