il fruttivendolo Simpatia a Greve in Chianti / the Simpatia (meaning ‘congeniality’) greengrocer, town of Greve, in Chianti
[NOTE: This post is written in Italian, interspersed with the English translation.]
In Italia la frutta e la verdura si possono comprare dal supermercato insieme agli altri fabbisogni alimentari, così come negli Usa, però il luogo più comune, più tradizionale e di gran lunga il più divertente per acquistare prodotti agricoli è il fruttivendolo.
In Italy, you can buy fruit and vegetables at the supermarket along with other needed food items, just like in the States, but the most common, most traditional and by far the most fun place to purchase produce is from the fruttivendolo, or the greengrocer’s.
Asparagi in mostra al mercatino del Rialto, Venezia / Asparagus on display at the open-air market in the Rialto, Venice
I fruttivendoli (detti anche ortolani) si trovano nelle zone residenziali insieme ad altri negozi e anche ai mercatini locali, dove gli italiani vanno regolarmente per comprare della frutta e della verdura fresche e dove molto probabilmente conoscono i nomi del proprietario e delle commesse del fruttivendolo.
Greengrocers (fruttivendoli, also called ortolani) are found in residential areas along with other shops and also at the local street/open-air markets, where Italians go regularly to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and where they very probably know the names of the owner and shop assistants of the greengrocery.
Insalata mista e salvia dal fruttivendolo Simpatia, Greve in Chianti / Mixed salad greens and sage at the Simpatia greengrocer
Siccome stiamo entrando in piena stagione del giardinaggio e della coltivazione degli orti, e con essa l’entusiasmo per ogni forma di frutta e ortaggio che abbondano nei caldi giorni estivi, mi sembrava l’occasione perfetta per condividere alcune foto delle delizie trovate dai fruttivendoli italiani. Non solo sono belle, ma secondo me, la produzione agricola italiana è tra le più gustose che abbia assaggiato. Godete!
Since we are entering into the high season of gardening and vegetable garden cultivation, and with it enthusiasm for every type of fruit and vegetable that abounds in the hot summer days, it seemed like the perfect occasion to share some photos of the delights found at Italian greengrocers. Not only are they beautiful, but in my opinion, Italian produce is among the tastiest. Enjoy!
Zuccchine con i fiori ancora intatti. Sono buonissimi nel risotto! Dal fruttivendolo Simpatia, Chianti. / Zucchini with their flower blooms still intact. These are great in risotto!
Peperonicini appesi per essicare. Notate gli spicchi d’aglio. Venezia. / Chili peppers hung to dry. Note the cloves of garlic. Venice.
Il proprietario del fruttivendolo Simpatia mette in mostra la sua spiritosa prassi sul credito: “Faccio credito solo ai novantenni se accompagnati dai genitori.” / The owner of Simpatia greengrocer displays his humorous store credit policy: “I offer credit only to those in their 90s, if accompanied by parents.”
Have any interesting Italian fruttivendolo anecdotes? Are you keeping un orto (a vegetable garden) this summer? Are your favorite verdure (vegetables) shown in these photos? Love to read your comments!
[Grazie sentite ai miei assistenti di redazione Giovanna ed Enzo e alla mia assistente grafico Mimi!]
Hi Jodina
Another enjoyable post about Italian culture!
I noticed a couple things as I was reading that I’m curious about. I notice when you referenced the US, instead of saying gli Stati Uniti, you wrote Usa (U upper case and s and a lower case). Is that a common way to refer to the US in Italian? I think I’ve only ever read it as gli Stati Uniti. Is it spelled that way (upper and lower case)? And how do they say it? I notice that Italians often don’t speak the initials of an acronym as we do but rather speak it as a word, so instead of pronouncing this U-S-A, they would say usa. Would that be right?
The second thing I’m curious about is in the second paragraph where you use a plural adjective with two singular nouns (della frutta e della verdura fresche). I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that usage before. It makes sense that since the adjective is modifying two nouns it would be plural (well, it makes sense in English anyway!). I think I would have said “delle frutte e delle verdure fresche.” Would that be wrong?
Buona giornata e grazie! Spero di vederti qualche giorno.
DJ
Ciao DJ,
Che bello sentirti!
Yes, you are right: Italians sometimes refer to the United States as gli Usa, pronounced /ooza/. You’ll occasionally see it written as USA, but more commonly with just the first letter capitalized. It’s the equivalent of saying in English ‘the States’ or ‘the USA’.
Regarding your second question: both my way of writing it and the way you would have written it are correct. I wrote it the way I did because it’s more common to refer to fruit collectively as ‘la frutta’ and to vegetables collectively as ‘la verdura’. In the end, it’s a question of agreement, just like in the first paragraph where it says “la frutta e la verdura si possono comprare” (not “si puo`”).
I love getting your comments and grazie per le domande interessanti 🙂
A presto,
Jodina
Grazie per la risposta interessante, Jodina! Imparo qualcosa nuova ogni giorno!
Un’altra domanda: If you were speaking only of the collective fruit, la frutta, would you still use fresche or would you use fresca?
A presto amica,
DJ
Prego!
You would say ‘la frutta fresca’ — es. Mi piace la frutta fresca., Vorrei della frutta fresca.
Tante belle cose,
Jodina
Thanks to your class at San Deguito, I was able to ask for directions, order at restaurants, buy tickets for buses and water taxis and museums and of course, go shopping. Grazie mille!
Liliana
Ciao Liliana,
thanks for your message. I am so glad that what you learned in my class helped you navigate with panache in Italia. Brava!
Jodina