If you happen to be in Milan on Sunday the 14th October 2007 (date corrected,Thanks to Cath), and you happen to like fresh porcini mushrooms, truffles, Italian wine, grappa and cheese, then you may find the via Paolo Sarpi street fair fascinating. You can see where Via Paolo Sarpi is on my Platial map: just click here. Via Paolo Sarpi is about 10 minutes from the centre of Milan by bus and only 20 or so minutes on foot. To find out in more detail how to get there from anywhere in Milan, try using the ATM Milan’s system: here. If you happen to find yourself in Parco Sempione that day, then make a slight detour to Paolo Sarpi, which is only 10 minutes from the park on foot.
Enough directions. This street fair has been held for quite a number of years and becomes packed with people who are getting in a little bit of early Christmas shopping and stocking up on good cheese, wine and grappa. The street will be closed to traffic, as you would expect, and should be lined by market stalls selling all manner of Italian traditional foods, wines and other interesting items. Apparently, on the 25th October there will also be more stands and an all day wine tasting will take place, although I want to find out more about this.
Apart from the sights and the smells, you can often taste-test the wine, or the grappa, if that is your thing. And if you are into salami, you should find an extensive selection to both try and buy. The wild boar (cinghiale) salami is not half bad. There are also other varieties of yummy salami with red wine and porcini mushrooms. They are very good – especially when eaten with some of the good wholesome country bread which you can also pick up from the stalls that line the streets.
Then there are all the cheeses and other rather unusual items such as the ‘bagna cauda’ – which is a sauce thing,
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
It’s probably worth checking out this street fair, before lunchtime though, if you would prefer not to wade through crowds. You could even, weather permitting, grab some goodies and have a picnic in nearby Parco Sempione.
You may like to note that this area has changed a lot recently, so I’m not all that sure this wonderful fair will be as interesting as it has been in past years. I do hope so.
What ever happens, I shall be there hunting for wine and grappa, amongst other things.
*This is basically last year’s post about the same event – edited and updated a little. The comments are from last year, too, but others might find them helpful, so I’ve left them.
