Tuesdays and Fridays is fish day at the outdoor markets in the piazzas of Italy. No one is really sure why, but the previous night is when the fishing boats come in and unload their wares for retail. So far so good…
You know it’s fish day at some markets because the fish vendors decide to feed the noisy gabbiani (seagulls) directly from their stalls. As they clean the fish for their clients, they often give the removed bits either directly to the birds or to patrons who also feed the seagulls for a laugh. Keep in mind these are not cute Jonathan Livingston Seagulls, but are instead 3 foot wingspan, top of the aggressive avian omnivore pecking order, with a severe case of entitlement. Buy fish without feeding them and they will bark at you.
What’s funny is that they’re like clockwork. Every Tuesday and Friday mornings there the they are, ready and waiting for their fish (on the roof of a car, or on top of the vegetable stall in front of the fish stall). Very Italian… indeed you won’t find them expecting fish on any other day, there obviously being other things that one eats Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and weekends.
– Contributed by GB (see bio), Editor, Italian Notebook.
