The market with its 1.200 sqm surface area seats up to 100 people offering different seating combinations and has 65 stalls selling different items, from cheese (the king of the long aged cheeses, the Parmigiano Reggiano, is offered with a 24 or a 36, up to 60 month cellar curing) o fruit and vegetables, meat, bakery products, spices, cereals and dry legumes, fish.
Imagine a big and unique shopping center completely dedicated to food, exhibited lined, piled, on attractive stalls, specialties that communicates a true taste of local lives. You can stop to buy something to carry out or sit and taste a just cooked local dish as tortellini in capon broth or organic broiled chicken with crunchy roasted potatoes.
Every week at the Albinelli market, thousands of visitors find fresh fruit and vegetables and can get a taste of the typical, famous all over the world food products of Modena: the traditional balsamic vinegar, zampone, Parmigiano Reggiano, tortellini and some high quality-conveniently priced local favorites. In a cozy atmosphere, you’ll find plenty to keep you occupied (and your appetite satisfied). friendly talks, colors, perfumes, flavors.

Furthermore you can buy sweets, jams and preserves, especially the tart cherry jam, a product which has its roots in the rich Modena culinary tradition. It dates back to Renaissance times and many historical documents bear witness to it. Above all, l’arte di ben cucinare et istruire (the art of good cooking and its teaching) by Bartolomeo Stefani in 1662 where appears a detailed recipe for a tart cherry jam. Later on, in the 19th century, the world famous Pellegrino Artusi, wrote extensively in his cook book about how to make the typical crostata di amarene, a tart cherry pie made unique by its tart flavor. Then Modena ham (Protected Designation of Origin), freshly made pasta, fish salami, organic teas… Each stall sells territorial products. A great place to find authentic ready to eat Modena style food, materials responsibly sourced, produce grown by local farmers and crafted by local chefs.
The pizza you can find here is not the anywhere usual one, but made with sourdough, special grains, incomparable topping matchings, a truly eye-opening experience, with so much flavor in the dough and a crispy chewy texture to the crust. Visiting the market will help you to experience all the types of foods and ingredients of the entire Modena area without leaving downtown!
If you would like to buy a precious little bottle of traditional 25 year long aging balsamic vinegar, remember that they can ship it directly to your home without risking to break it on your trip back home. Go to the fish stalls. They put on a show with long time customers and interact with the crowd: fresh fish, shells, stockfish, baccalà and the beloved pes putanein, small fish first fried and then soaked in wine vinegar, a true “must have”, together with eels, on a Modenese Christmas Eve’s table. If all we described above is not enough to stimulate your curiosity, you need to know that inside the market there a sandwich bar with a large selection of healthy and gourmet sandwiches, salads&more and a large variety of wines and beers, a truly a unique experience, an exclusive flower and aromatic herbs boutique, a newsstand selling also books about Modena and reserving taxis for you and a drugstore. In a rustic but quaint ambience, you can easily spot VIPs (quite often it is possible to meet Massimo Bottura wandering around to buy fresh produce for his restaurant in via Stella, 22).
If all that we have just listed is not enough to intrigue you, know that there is also a bar-sandwich shop famous throughout Italy for delicious gourmet sandwiches that dare combinations as unusual as they are very appetizing, a flower and aromatic boutique, a newsstand (which also sells publications on the history of Modena) and a parapharmacy.
Delightfully rustic casual furniture and VIP sightings guaranteed (Massimo Bottura also wanders around the counters for his shop in via Stella, 22)