Sarzana Earth Market

Sarzana is today a modern centre of craftsmanship, agriculture and tourism. The ancient city walls are the legacy of an eventful history, marked by alternating governments of different families that have influenced the culture and architectural style of the city.
The market opened in Piazza San Giorgio, which had been a market place since the end of the 19th century, but fell into disuse in the 1950s to make way for a petrol station and thus became a mere crossroads for roads leading to the main towns of Liguria and Tuscany. The town of Sarzana is in fact located east of the river Magra, where the Cisa motorway meets the Via Aurelia.
Launched in 2010 by the Sarzana Lerici Val di Magra convivium, with the contribution of the Cassa di Risparmio di Genova and thanks to an agreement with the Sarzana town council, the market has since become a centre for spreading the Slow Food philosophy.
By offering local products, selected and controlled according to strict quality criteria, the project has a positive impact on the area and its inhabitants, offering good, healthy products at a fair price and the chance to keep small producers alive.
Today between 25 and 30 producers from the Sarzana plain, Val di Magra and Lunigiana participate in the market, bringing their seasonal vegetables and fruit, native wheat flour and bread (including the Slow Food Presidium marocca di Casola, a dark, compact Tuscan bread made from wheat, potatoes and chestnuts), dairy products and raw milk cheeses, honey, meat and eggs, wine and oil. There are also often local specialities, for example the artisanal Pontremolese Testarolo, a Slow Food Presidium, cooked in the traditional cast-iron Testo.
The Convivium frequently organises convivial occasions and tastings of the market’s products.

For more information:
Visit the market’s Fb page: www.facebook.com/slowfoodsarzana