Cinzia is always looking for new markets to visit. One of the bigger ones is the Sant’ Ambrogio Market. It’s located in one of the neighborhoods that is a bit off the tourist path, so we were excited to see more local flavor. There was a meat and seafood market in a central building surrounded on three sides by outdoor stalls of vendors selling clothing, house wares, linens, toys, and assorted fruits and vegetables.
We thought that since this was a locals’ market that the prices would be lower than the more popular Mercato Centrale in the heart of the city. That was not the case. Prices were a bit higher across the board, but we also noticed that the butchers had very nicely displayed cases. Even the fresh pasta was arranged in beautiful spiral patterns. We snapped a few photos and spotted a few items we hadn’t run across yet, most notably was the colli ripieni, or “stuffed neck”. These were chicken necks that were plucked, stuffed with who knows what, and had the heads left on. They made quite a sight, especially the ones whose beaks were stuffed with parsley. Perhaps these chickens ratted out other hens and a message had to be sent to the rest of the coop. This is, after all, Italy.