Milan: The Earth Market

The Earth Market takes place every first and third Saturday of the month right in the centre of Milan, in what was once the “Fabbrica del Vapore” (Steam Factory) .

It is a market of farm producers from the province of Milan and the surrounding areas, who only sell products produced by them, selected according to specific organoleptic or technological standards.

Milan is an agricultural city, you know!

 

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Video full text: The Earth Market in Milan

On our cycling-agricultural journey
we have seen where the historical agricultural traditions of Milan are rooted.
We’ve seen projects that look to the future.
Real agricultural concerns with cattle farms and permanent meadows (in Italian marcite) literally inside the city.
OK, but where does one eat? Here! At the mercato della terra or earth market.
Right in the centre of Milan, in what was once the Fabbrica del Vapore (Steam Factory),
where the producers hold a market every first and third Saturday of the month.
Alessandro Cecchini is from Slow Food Milan.
What type of market is this? Who are the sellers here?
It’s a market of farm producers from the province of Milan and the surrounding areas.
They only sell products produced by them.
But who certifies the quality of these producers? Is it good stuff?
We’ve paid a visit to each individual farm that is here today,
and in order to be present in this market they have to adhere to the guidelines
drawn up by the Slow Food scientific committee,
where every individual production is detailed,
and must meet specific organoleptic or technological standards.
There is a sort of direct human relational guarantee.
Anyone can go and visit the farm directly.
Milan is an agricultural city, even historically speaking!
The essential thing for the earth market is the local component, and not just of the food,
but also with regard to the relationship with the producers.
Everyone here is interesting and has their own story.
Giancarlo comes from the Brianza and runs Vericultura, an organic natural farming business.
We imitate the undergrowth, where the raspberries and bilberries grow on the mountain.
Everything that grows spontaneously is very good,
therefore ours is not an neat fruit garden, it’s totally chaotic! But it is natural.
Then there’s Carlo, an organic intellectual, in every sense of the word,
who puts his intellect to work on the farm.
My farming methods are far from intensive
we’ve built a mobile henhouse, and my hens are put out to pasture.
You have salamis and cotechini (type of sausage), so I imagine that you also breed pigs.
A semi-wild breeding environment where the pigs are sacrificed
after their first birthday, usually at around 14 months.
Normally a pig is slaughtered at around 7 months, as is the case, for example, with Parma Ham.
A pig eats a bit of everything,
we don’t throw any of the pig away, but it, in turn, throws nothing away!
Irene has a real business that produces things, but primarily human relationships.
Social initiatives to bring producers and consumer closer together.
I set out with the idea that getting close to the land is good for one’s health,
and not just physical, because eating organic food means eating healthy,
but also ethical, because we’re all human beings,
living creatures that feed off their contact with nature,
beginning with children.
Stimulating the consumer to prioritise food.
The right question is not ‘why does a genuine farmer’s product cost so much?’,
but rather ‘why does what I buy at the supermarket cost so little?’
What’s the link between global and local?
According to Chiara the link is the goat.
Tell me about this cheese.
It is a toma (semi hard cheese), made from pure, raw goat’s milk.
I’m seeing things. I see a goat! I can hear it, I can smell it.
I hope that you can also smell the grass that the goats have eaten in that cheese,
because that’s how it ought to be.
They spent six months at Expo asking themselves how to feed the planet.
What do you think the recipe is?
I am very biased, so I believe in a network of small producers
who work in the area, moving around, shipping their products as quickly as they can.
But there must be traceability, the possibility of describing what one does.
You don’t think powdered milk is a good idea then, am I right?
Absolutely, but then I am biased!
Paolo Bolzacchini is from Slow Food.
We are putting together a tourist type itinerary,
and we have to show potential tourists, Italians, foreigners and even the Milanese,
those monuments that are worth visiting.

This famous Parco Agricolo Sud Milano is considered a territorial monument.
In what way can a park be considered a monument?
An agricultural park is a belt of green land close to the city,
and in addition to the beauty of certain agricultural areas, there are also some veritable items of cultural heritage.
Historical abbeys like Chiaravalle.
The Parco Agricolo Sud Milano becomes a network of relationships
that you have attempted to organise with the Nutrire Milano (Feeding Milan) project.
The project was a provocation.
When Milan was awarded Expo, Carlo Petrini wrote a provocative article:
Is the agricultural city of Milan capable of feeding itself?
Something of a revolution.
We wanted to find the more upstanding businesses,
that were capable of bringing their food directly to the city.
Our journey through agricultural Milan ends here.
It has been a journey covering history, education, monuments and one of self-education.
A tourism trail through wine and gastronomy!