Little shops like the one in the photo Jady sent me below have a romantic feel to them don’t they? It makes me smile to see all the colors,fresh (probably local) products and down to earth owners that live in the community and care about their business and customers. There’s also a beauty in the tradition of closing at noon/1pm and reopening again at 4pm after a hearty lunch and well deserved afternoon nap. The mom &pop shop has long been a part of Italian life and culture. When I was a child,I also remember the mobile fish salesman and other mobile salesman that would drive from town to town and shout out what they had as they slowly drove to the main piazza. People would walk out of their homes to buy products that were fresh from the docks or orchards and it was delicious.
On my last visit to Calabria this past April,I was sad to see that a large shopping mall had opened between Lamezia Terme and Catanzaro called “Centro Commerciale Due Mari” and I noticed that many of the small mom &pop shops in the towns near my grandparents’home had closed. As always there are pros and cons. The Centro Commerciale has created jobs and it’s slightly cheaper to buy groceries at the mega grocery store they have there but in my opinion,they have lost so much more! When you lose the mom &pop shops you also lose people and when there are no shops and no people,you lose “la passeggiata”…which as many of you know is the “walk”usually down the main strip to people watch and see friends and eat a gelato. So go to your shopping mall and walk around in circles on several levels… that’s just as fun right? It seems to me that here in the US we are trending away from shopping malls and back towards small and local. I hope that’s true and if it is,I couldn’t be happier. At the end of the day,we may save a few dollars at the mall or Walmart but look at what we’re giving up? DOWN WITH SHOPPING MALLS!
Photo credit:jonnybaird on flickr
I couldn’t agree with you more. They put a big mall up here as well,but fortunately,it’s the one that’s struggling. The big downtown twice weekly market is still alive and well,thank god! It would be more than a shame if after 1,000 years in the same place a shining new mall put them out of business. Fortunately,everyone still likes to shop at the mercato,myself included.
We still have those vans in our village,Joe. Different wares on different days of the week. Today,the fruit &veg man will come –his own home grown produce,so it’s seasonal too.
My favourite is Wednesday,when the fishwives arrive. Their husbands are fishermen on the Adriatic –about 40 mins from us –and they sell what their husbands have caught that morning –so fresh the crustaceans are still moving.
I agree totally,Shopping malls rip the heart of places..here in my stall town in Oxfordshire,we had a huge supermarket built to replace there small one,and around it sort of a mall,it is horrible,and shops in town centre closing down,and as for a market,it is pathetic,all council rules apply,…I love the sound of Casalba’s vans coming around,,oh to have fresh fish,..
Hiya,Joe. I hate to be the odd-man out b/c in theory I agree with everything you and the commenters said. I still LOVE the market and prefer to shop at local bakeries and cheese shops than the big supermarkets,but the cost of clothes and shoes (I’ll say Catanzaro,b/c I can’t comment on the moms and pops in other places) were getting outrageous.
There is also at least one “Mom and Pop”shoe store near my house that has a horrible reputation for claiming to sell namebrand shoes that they actually got from “the back of a van in Naples.”
If all things really were equal and/or the costs of shopping at the local stores were reasonable I would do it EVERY TIME.
It was so frustrating a couple of years ago when I had to buy a new SUNDRESS for a wedding and spend over 200 euros for a dress that obviously wasn’t worth it.
(You asked!)
I would hate to see Italy become the giant strip mall that the USA is becoming!
I like getting to know my grocer.. Mom &Pops all the way for me and though the shopping for a visitor was exceptional in touristy areas.. Florence,Rome,Sorrento I found myself always seeking out smaller,family run grocers &marketplaces that actually knew about the merchandise they were selling.
The mom &pop shops certainly make where you live feel like more of a community and esthetically pleasing. It’s good to get Cherry’s point of view as she lives near the mall I mention in the post…it does help keep the mom &pop shops honest…and that grocery store does have EVRYTHING. Including a 12foot mortadella!
Caro Joe,
Tutto d’accordo! Excellent comments. Down with the malls! You are absolutely right. Thank God,we still have vans coming to our paese three times a week (pane;frutta &verdura etc.) The general store is gone,but there is a farmers’market 4 km away every Thursday. AND! there is a counter reaction to mass production (at last!) Our village gourmet restaurant only uses Bio produced meat,food and greens. AND people come in crowds. Lovely entrepreneurship! Bacione,Ingrid in Umbria
I wish there were more of those Mom and Pop stores in this country,Joe,like the ones I remember when I was growing up. We could certainly benefit from them.
And who couldn’t use a nice siesta every day!
I’m with ya,Joe! I despise strip malls and shopping malls,and hate the repetition that we see every few miles of big box stores. I avoid the ipermercati and centri commerciale whenever possible and shop from the local shops. I give my bucks to the little guy!