The strong voices of the fish market traders echo in Piazza Alonzo Di Benedetto which is tucked in behind Catania’s elegant Piazza Del Duomo. It is a Thursday morning and down a few steps from the classic marble fountain Amenano, which borders Piazza Del Duomo, the pulsating market, “La Pescheria” is in full swing.

Crammed between the baroque heart of Catania and the old port the fish market is a few hours of serious trading. Catanese housewives, old men, chefs and wholesalers haggle for the best prices for the fresh pieces of giant tuna and swordfish, live squirming eels, mussels, silver bream, sea urchins, sardines, octopus, prawns and sting rays still pumping.

Wandering traders hawk freshly cut bunches of parsley and bags of lemons from the rich slopes of Etna as tanned men scale, fillet and shell the harvest from the blue waters of the Ionian Sea.

Every now and then large buckets of fresh water are tossed to wash away the blood which flows from beneath the marble work benches of the stalls shaded by lopsided awnings and tilted umbrellas. An hour after the noon sun the market closes for trading and Piazza Alonza Di Benedetto is washed clean and is silent again until the next morning.

Salve,

Suzanne