Il Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio (the New Testaccio Market. Via Beniamino Franklin/corner Via Aldo Manuzio, Rome, the EUR-adjacent Testaccio neighborhood): the covered market that the Rome municipality opened in November 2012 as the replacement for the historic outdoor Testaccio market (the specific original Testaccio market, the outdoor daily market in Piazza Testaccio that had operated since 1917 and that the 2012 move to the new covered structure ended): the 180-stall covered market whose specific character (the authentic neighborhood food market that the local Testaccio residents use for their daily shopping, not the tourist-facing "artisanal" market format) makes it the single most specifically Roman food market experience available in the historic center. Open Monday-Saturday 7:00-15:00. The Tuesday-Saturday morning (9:00-12:00) is the optimal visit time for the maximum stall activity and the minimum visitor-to-local-resident ratio.
The specific Testaccio neighborhood context (the Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio can't be fully appreciated without the specific Testaccio neighborhood historical context): Testaccio (the rione (the historical neighborhood) south of the Aventine hill and the Circus Maximus, between the Tiber and the Monte Testaccio (the specific 35m-high artificial hill made entirely of broken Roman terracotta amphorae (the testae (the singular: testa, the amphora sherd from the specific Latin testam meaning "earthenware")) that the ancient Roman port (the Emporium) accumulated over 500 years of olive oil import (the specific Roman commercial infrastructure: the olive oil imported from Spain, North Africa, and Greece in the specific 70-liter dolia (the standard Roman olive oil amphora) was transferred at the Testaccio port, the amphora discarded on the specific dumping ground that the 35m Monte Testaccio represents after 2,000 years of compaction)): the Testaccio's specific Roman food heritage derives from the adjacency to the Mattatoio (the Rome municipal slaughterhouse, the specific 19th-century slaughterhouse (the Mattatoio di Roma, built 1888-1891, the largest single Italian municipal slaughterhouse of the pre-industrial era) that the Testaccio working-class neighborhood lived adjacent to and whose specific fifth-quarter tradition (the quinto quarto, the specific Roman offal cuisine tradition (the trippa (tripe), the coda (oxtail), the pajata (intestines), and the rigatoni con la coratella (the lung and heart offal pasta) that the Testaccio slaughterhouse workers received as the wage supplement (the payment in the offal portions that the bourgeois customers wouldn't buy)) defines the most specifically Roman of all Italian regional food traditions).
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Nuovo Mercato Testaccio: The Best Stalls and the Lunch Strategy
The Essential Stalls
The specific Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio stall recommendations: the Aromaticus (Box 40, the Roman herb and vegetable stall that doubles as the specific "vegetable-focused" lunch counter (the Aromaticus prepares the specific seasonal vegetable dishes (the concia di zucchine (the marinated courgette), the vignarola (the Roman spring vegetable stew of peas, favas, artichokes, and guanciale), and the specific chickpea soup) from the market produce for the specific 12:00-14:00 lunch service at the stall counter): the most specifically Roman vegetable lunch experience in any market context. Mordi e Vai (Box 15, the sandwiches counter whose specific product (the panino with the specific Roman braised meats (the coda alla vaccinara (the Roman oxtail stewed in the specific Roman sauce of celery, onion, tomato, chocolate, and pine nuts), the lingua in salsa verde (the boiled ox tongue with the parsley-caper-anchovy green sauce), and the specific trippa) between the specific roman white bread (the rosetta or the ciabatta)) is the most specifically Roman single sandwich experience available in any Rome market context at approximately €5-8 per panino). The offal vendors (the specific trippa al vapore stall (the Box 7, the Roman tripe vendor who sells the pre-cooked tripe (the trippa bollita) by weight (approximately €4-6/100g) to the Testaccio neighborhood residents who take it home for the specific Saturday trippa alla romana preparation (the trippa with the tomato sauce, the mentuccia (the Roman wild mint), and the pecorino romano)).
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See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.Q&A: Nuovo Mercato Testaccio
What is the Testaccio neighborhood like beyond the market?
The Testaccio neighborhood (the specific rione south of the Aventine hill): the most specifically working-class authentic of the Rome historic center neighborhoods, the neighborhood that has the highest ratio of Roman-born permanent residents to tourist-facing services of any comparable Rome historic center rione. The specific Testaccio attractions beyond the market: the Monte Testaccio (the 35m artificial amphora hill, accessible by prior booking through the Roma Archaeological Society for the specific underground cave tour (the Testaccio wine caves (the cantine nelle grotte di Monte Testaccio, the specific cave spaces cut into the amphora hill in the 19th century for the wine storage whose specific constant-temperature environment (14°C year-round from the amphora insulation) made them the most economical single wine storage in Rome))). The MACRO Testaccio (the contemporary art museum in the specific former Mattatoio (slaughterhouse) building (the Padiglione 9B of the former Mattatoio complex converted to the contemporary art exhibition space)). And the Centrale Montemartini (see the dedicated guide) 1.5km south on Via Ostiense).
