01What it is
The Quadrilatero is the block of narrow streets just east of Piazza Maggiore, hidden behind the facade of the Palazzo dei Banchi. It has been Bologna's market since the Middle Ages, and it still is.
02The streets are named for their trades
Via Pescherie Vecchie is the old fish market. Via Drapperie was the drapers', via Clavature the locksmiths', via Orefici the goldsmiths'. The trades have changed; the names tell you what the lanes were for.
The Mercato di Mezzo, a covered market hall, sits in the middle of the grid.
03What you find now
Delicatessens with whole mortadellas and hams hanging in the doorways, cheese counters, fishmongers with their stalls out in the street, fruit and vegetables, and tables set out for eating standing up or sitting close together.
This is where la Grassa is easiest to understand: most of what the city cooks is on sale within a hundred meters.
04While you are here
On via Clavature, Santa Maria della Vita holds one of the most startling sculptures in Italy. It is easy to walk past its door.
Note The lanes are narrow and busy at lunchtime and in the early evening. Come in the morning to see the market working rather than the crowd eating.
