Food Markets in Como: Shopping Like a Resident

Como’s weekly markets

Como has a strong tradition of open-air neighbourhood markets. The two biggest are usually held mid-week and at the weekend — traditionally on Tuesday and Saturday — in the area around the ancient city walls, a short walk from the historic centre. These are large, mixed markets: a generous run of food stalls alongside clothing, homeware and flowers. For anyone who cooks, it’s the fresh-produce end that matters.

Days and times can shift with the seasons, public holidays or roadworks in town, so it’s always worth confirming locally or asking your host before you plan the morning. The golden rule holds everywhere in Italy: go early. The best-stocked stall, the freshest fish and the finest porcini are there in the first hours; by lunchtime the best stands are already starting to pack up.

What to look for, season by season

The joy of the market is that it tells you the calendar without a word. In Como — cradled between the lake and the mountains — you find the produce of the water and of the high pastures side by side:

• Lake fish — perch, lavaret (whitefish), shad and, salt-cured, the famous missoltino. They’re the base of risottos and simple mains, and tell the story of the lake better than any guidebook.
• Alpine cheeses — from the valleys above Como come cow’s- and goat’s-milk cheeses, fresh or aged; ask which are “d’alpe” (from the mountain pastures) and ask for a taste.
• Chestnuts — in autumn they pile up on the stalls and scent the streets when roasted; lovely for flours and desserts too.
• Porcini and wild mushrooms — in late summer and autumn, after the rains, they’re the market’s treasure: deeply fragrant, perfect over fresh pasta.
• Seasonal fruit and vegetables — asparagus and strawberries in spring, tomatoes and courgettes in summer, squash, cabbages and apples in autumn.

You don’t need the Italian names: point, ask “di stagione?” (in season?) and let the vendor guide you. Stallholders are proud to explain where their produce comes from — that’s half the fun.

How to shop like a resident

A few simple habits turn you from tourist into regular. Bring cash and a foldable bag: many stalls don’t take cards and no one hands out plastic. Don’t touch the fruit: point and let the vendor choose — it’s a matter of respect. Buy little and often, around what you’ll actually cook, rather than filling the fridge. And don’t be shy about asking for advice: how to clean a perch, how long a porcino needs, what to serve with that cheese.

One more secret: let them tell you the season. A “this is the moment for it” is worth more than any label. It’s exactly the instinct we teach at the table, and the one running through our guide on what to eat in Como.

From the market to the kitchen

A market visit isn’t only shopping: it’s the first step of a dish. Lake fish becomes a risotto; porcini scent a white ragù to spoon over hand-rolled tagliatelle; autumn squash fills ravioli; chestnuts end up in a dessert. Learning to read the stall — what’s ripe, what’s in season, what to buy today — is half a cook’s job.

That is exactly the thread of our pasta school in Como: we start from simple, seasonal ingredients and turn them, by hand, into a complete meal. Our resident chef, trained at Rina Poletti’s Accademia della Sfoglia, shows you how to make sense of whatever the market is offering that week.

A food-lover’s morning in Como

The market slots beautifully into a food-lover’s day: shop in the morning, walk the lakefront, then a coffee or an aperitivo in the afternoon. You’ll find a full route in our guide to things to do in Como for food lovers. And if the shopping leaves you itching to cook, our class is the most natural way to close the loop — see how it works first.

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Choose your masterclass

What you see at the market, you can learn to cook with us: the Tagliatelle Masterclass – Fresh Tomato, the Tagliatelle Masterclass – Ragù Bolognese, the Ravioloni Verdi Masterclass – Ricotta and the Farfalle e Garganelli Masterclass – Ragù. Same full evening, same fee: just choose the pasta you want to learn.