Siena's Wednesday Market at La Lizza: How to Do It Right

# Siena's Wednesday Market at La Lizza

Every Wednesday morning, the open ground between the Fortezza Medicea and Piazza Gramsci fills with several hundred stalls. It's one of the largest weekly markets in Tuscany and it is overwhelmingly *for locals*, which is exactly why it's good.

The basics

• When: Wednesday, roughly 07:30 to 14:00. Stalls start packing up from 13:00.
• Where: La Lizza and Viale Cesare Maccari, on the northwest edge of the historic centre, five minutes from Piazza Gramsci and next to the Fortezza.
• Cost: free to enter.
• Cash: bring it. Many food stalls don't take cards, and small notes are appreciated.

Arrive by 09:30 for the best produce and the friendliest sellers. By noon it's crowded and hot in summer.

The two halves

Clothing, shoes, homeware, fabric — the majority of the stalls. Cheap, functional, occasional finds in the leather and linen stalls. Not the reason to come, but fun to walk.

Food — the reason to come. Cheese, salumi, porchetta trucks, bread, fruit and vegetables, olives, dried mushrooms, honey, spices, fish.

What to buy

Pecorino Sheep's cheese from Pienza and the Crete Senesi. Ask for *fresco* (young, mild), *semi-stagionato* (nutty), or *stagionato* (hard, sharp). Some are aged in walnut leaves or ash. €12–20/kg; a wedge for two costs €4–6. Sellers will always let you taste — say *"posso assaggiare?"*

Porchetta Whole roast pork, deboned and stuffed with rosemary, garlic and fennel, sliced to order into a bread roll. **€5–7 for a panino.** This is the best-value lunch in Siena, full stop.

Finocchiona Tuscan salami with fennel seeds. Sliced thin to order. €16–22/kg.

Olives and oil Green and black olives by the scoop, and in November, *olio nuovo* — the new season's oil, green and peppery. Buy oil from a producer's stall, not a souvenir tin.

Fruit and vegetables Seasonal and local: tomatoes and peaches in summer, porcini and chestnuts in autumn, cavolo nero for [ribollita](/articolo/cosa-mangiare-siena-piatti-tipici-toscani) in winter. Point rather than touch — in Italy the seller picks.

Bread Sienese bread is famously unsalted (*pane sciocco*). It exists to carry salty pork and cheese, and it makes sense the moment you eat it that way.

Build a €10 picnic

1. A *panino con porchetta* — €6 2. 150 g of pecorino — €4 3. Tomatoes and a peach — €2 4. Olives — €2

Take it into the Fortezza, two minutes away: flat gravel ramparts, benches, grass, shade and a view over the rooftops. Best-value lunch and best-value view in Siena in the same move.

Market etiquette

• Greet with *"buongiorno"* before anything else. It matters here.
• Don't handle produce.
• Ask for quantities in *etti* (100 g): *"due etti"* = 200 g.
• Haggling on food: no. On clothing: mildly, and only for multiple items.
• Watch your bag in the crush — it's Italy's safest kind of crowd, but crowds are crowds.

Other markets and food shopping

• Mercato nel Campo — a large historical market held in Piazza del Campo, typically in early December. Artisan food and crafts, well worth timing a visit around.
• Daily food shopping: small *alimentari* and *pizzicherie* in the centre will make you a panino any day of the week for €5–8.
• Antiques: monthly fairs in nearby towns; Arezzo's first-Sunday fair is the regional giant.

If you miss Wednesday

Every neighbouring town has its own market day — Poggibonsi, Colle Val d'Elsa, Montepulciano and Asciano all run weekly ones, and Monteriggioni and San Gimignano are easy bus rides. Ask your hotel which is on that morning.

Frequently asked

When is the market in Siena? Wednesday mornings, 07:30–14:00, at La Lizza.

Is the Siena market touristy? No — it's a working local market. That's its appeal.

Can I bring food home? Vacuum-packed cheese and salumi travel fine within the EU. Check your own country's rules for meat and dairy imports before flying.