Markets: Porta Portese

The flea market at Porta Portese in Rome is somewhat of a Sunday morning tradition for me. It is the largest flea market in Rome and you never know what you will find there - hundreds of vendors are selling just about anything and everything one could imagine. There is plenty of junk that looks like it was salvaged out of a dumpster, but there are also plenty of antiques and collectibles in the mix too.

Perhaps it is the thrill of the hunt, the lure of that unexpected find that gets me out of bed and out onto the deserted Roman streets at 8 am. Today I was not disappointed - this spread was the first I saw that really got my heart racing ...

This guy had a really great assortment - coffee grinders, corkscrews, old metal tins, a great old kitchen scale (which, in hindsight i should have bought! See it in the upper right?) But what really caught my eye were the antique metal chocolate molds:

They were mostly Easter themed - look at all those rabbits! a rabbit in a car, rabbits pulling carts filled with eggs, one little rabbit just sitting there ... also a cute hen on a nest. There were also a bunch of weird elves (when i got home and looked these up online I found out they were actually old-timey Santa's. Der.) Now, you may wonder, do I fancy myself a chocolate maker? Do I know any one who makes their own chocolates? NO. But I had to have them anyway. I made the deal and brought those babies home. Stay tuned to see how they clean up! (Will probably have to go back for those Santa-elves I left behind, next week. See the one riding the donkey?)

Among the rusty metal delights I found some of my favorite ceramics from Vietri sul Mare - 6 pasta plates with a colorful sea-inspired theme. I wanted these, but could not get a good price (He wanted 20 euro for one! I know that you can buy them new for around 5 euro each.) Oh well, do I really need more ceramics?! Maybe next time!


Another item that I desperately wanted but couldn't haggle a decent price was this old biscotti tin with an image of St. Peters. Loves. But 50 euro?! Walk away.


These heads were kind of creepy but cool too...especially in a bunch.


Moving on, I found these amazing pomegranate candle holders at another table. They were extremely heavy, and while I love all things pomegranate, I resisted.


And this porcelain lamp just needs a little love and a new shade:


Crucifixes anyone? Like I said, you can find just about anything at the Porta Portese. I can hardly wait to see what I will find next week!LS.