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Fruteria (Fruit Stands?) and Orange Varieties in March

I saw little kiosks selling fruit on our recent trip to Rome, and I wondered if the fruteria or fruit stand is the place to buy fruit when in Italy, or whether a grocery store can have just as fine a quality? We've rented an apartment in Rome for our return trip next March, staying near the Pantheon, and I'm trying to recreate the amazing fruit breakfast we had at our hotel in Florence. We were given blood oranges, perfectly sweet, strawberries, kiwi, and ripe Bosc (seemed like) pears. Since coming home, I've fallen in love with Cara Cara oranges and wondered if Italy sells anything close to that variety there, too. I read online Italy commonly sells arancia di Ribera (a type of Washington navel orange grown in Sicily) and arancia rossa (blood oranges), but I didn't know if Rome was like other big cities where it literally has access to everything and any Cara Caras would be imported from the US.

Does anyone have any recs for a grocer or fruit stand in Rome that takes particular pride in selling perfectly-picked fruit? I don't mind paying a premium for my in-laws to have a great experience for breakfast. We'll be landing around noon on a Wednesday and leaving Monday morning for another city (so weekend-only markets aren't my 1st choice).

Posted by
211 posts

I've never seen Cara Cara oranges in Italy. But you won't miss them. There are 3 types of arance rosse--Moro, Sanguinelli, and Tarocco, and they have varying degrees of sweetness or tartness, and red interiors. I don't have any recommendations for Rome--I live in Umbria--but any place where the owner picks the fruit will get you some good stuff. In supermarkets, you're on your own, but the quality in general is higher than what you'd find in the U.S. Try some of the big markets there, you're bound to find a decent vendor.

Posted by
28249 posts

Often fruit in Italy is labeled as to origin, so you'll know whether it's from Italy or imported. You might ask your hotel staff or the manager of your apartment for a recommended place to buy. In the absence of such input, I'd bet on a store specializing in fruit and vegetables or a large stand that seemed to be patronized by locals. (Sorry to be vague, but I usually just grabbed a banana.)