Discovering the Real Italy

April and Stephanie hit the streets of Sacile with me for the colorful bounty of market day in the city center. 

This is the Italy I had been waiting for. We discovered a casual version of Italy where everyday life looks beautiful--full of color, sweet smells and personality.

Market Day

It was market day in Sacile and the town's streets and squares were full of fresh produce, specialty foods and an amazing selection of discount shoes, clothes, purses and home goods.

To the locals, it's just the day of the week for the shopping done all on foot in the center of town. But for three American girls, it was an adventure for the senses with a discovery around every corner. The sweet smell of cheeses filled the air near one stall while the fresh smell of flowers filled the air near another. Hearty salami hung casually on display next to a colorful array of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Senior-aged men grouped together in small huddles in the center of the cobblestone streets were just shooting the breeze while their wives gathered up all the goods. Shaking their hands in the air in that ever-so-Italian way, their words rose above the dull roar of the crowd like a humorous melody. Even though I understood none of what they were saying, I'm sure the topic of conversation was politics, the weather or the neighbors.

To my husband:

Beautiful irises made me think of you and that first bouquet you sent me when we were dating. The colors of the flowers made me wish I was a better gardener and sparked a renewed determination in tending to our little container garden on the back porch. The flowers here didn't seem like so much of a luxury, but more of a normality. Several Italians carried bouquets in their arms through the streets along with bags of produce, food and other items.

There were so many people of all ages at the market, I almost wondered if these people even worked on Thursdays--the day the market is held in town. Do businesses shut down so people can shop at the market until noon? Talk about la dolce vita. The mercado was the day's main event and it seemed no one was missing it.

I was able to use a few expressions from my Italian phrase book to purchase some juicy grapes, which later I put in the freezer for a frozen treat. The cheese smelled so amazing, I wanted to run off with a giant wheel of it. Don't worry, I restrained myself. I'm sure they must have weighed a ton. The wheels and bricks of cheese were so large, we could have eaten off them for months--maybe even a year.

Italians Do Casual So Well

Strolling around Sacile, it wasn't just the colorful goods sold at the outdoor market that impressed me. Everyday buildings, windows and doors ... even wrought iron gates looked pretty. Shutters on windows always seemed to add just the right touch to the design, while the earthy colors of the historic buildings were the perfect backdrop to the bustle of the lively city center. Italian architecture just never seems to go out of style. Everything we looked at was hundreds of years old--if not a thousand years old--and it's still what people around the world model their homes, gardens and streets after. Even if a building is crumbling, it's doing so in style.

Even if a town seems unassuming, it's still boasts a magnificent church, a beautiful square and most likely a nice view. Just up the road from Sacile, we stumbled on Caneva. The streets are exactly what you'd picture in your mind when you think of a small village in Italy. This was the real Italy where we didn't run into any other tourists. Narrow streets are lined with classic stone buildings. After we passed a striking church, we were rewarded with a view of the surrounding hills, dotted with vineyards and olive orchards. Off in the distance, we could even see a tall bell tower reminding us--as if we could ever forget--that we're in gorgeous Italy.

The view from Caneva is one of my favorite vistas so far in Northern Italy. Just above this road, there's an old castle.