flea market in rome – mercato monti ‘the box’

I’m always getting asked about flea markets in Rome. I think that somehow people have in mind the great flea market of Paris, and think there is some equivalent in Rome. The closest thing we have to that is Porta Portese. I know a lot of people love wading through humanity for the thrill of finding some quirky trinket amid all that junk. Or maybe they’re just hoping to find a replacement for their car radio that got stolen that week (and if very likely for re-sale there. ) Whatever. It’s just not my thing.

Instead, I like finding the smaller markets that pop up every now and then. A semi regular one is the Mercato Monti, that is about a year old. They usually take place one Sunday a month, and most times happen in the basement of the Hotel Palatino in Monti. Every so often they take over the much swankier space at the Radisson hotel, just off Piazza Vittorio. The markets were started by a trio of friends in the Monti neighborhood, as a way of bringing together creative, interesting vendors on Sunday, when Monti is usually pretty quiet.

This month’s market was at the Radisson, and was called The Box (not sure what this means) and it was an extremely cool collection of mostly vintage vendors selling everything from jewelry to sunglasses, tables to shoes. My friends Petulia and Amina were selling vintage clothes and shoes to benefit a charity in Pakistan, which is one of the reasons I went. And my friend Claudia’s daughter, DJ Flavia Lazzarini, was spinning the right music. And there was even a brunch going on. You can get on their mailing list, or follow them on Facebook to find out where they’ll be next month.








Mercato Monti