Citta di Castello’s Retro Market

I believe (though hey, my memory isn’t 100% sieve-less, so if I’m mistaken, take it up with the court of universal blog authorities, or CUBA) I’ve mentioned the regular Citta di Castello (or, in AJ-speak, CDC) market (basic clothes, stuff, and veggies) somewhere on the blog, and know I’ve mentioned the small city itself, one of the closest small cities to us (where the truffle festival is). CDC also has another market, on the third Sunday of the month, called the Retro Market. It’s very different than the regular market (which is every Thursday and Saturday), sometimes smaller in scope, with a focus on, well, antique-y kinds of things: furniture, books, knick-knacks, jewelry, records, and more. Not as massive, or as massively expensive as the Arezzo antique market, the CDC Retro market sprawls in the old city square and some surrounding buildings and overhangs:

We went last weekend (only the second time we’d been this trip—sadly) and found tables holding everything that could possible fit under the designation “retro” and a lot that fit “flea market” just as well:

I think it’s a kick to amble around the aisles of stuff, sometimes day-dreaming about what furniture I might pick up if I had a little Italian hill house. The trunkish, table-ish, number in the front here was especially nice:

Perhaps the cutest thing at the market I found under one of the tables, though, when I was browsing some Italian books:

Here and there when walking around you come across a tableau (yeah, I talk fancy) that is almost like an art installation all on its own (makes you wonder if the seller is sad when a piece in the middle of an artistic grouping like the below is sold):

Usually, we’re okay just browsing, or picking up something small (okay, honestly, I should say I’m usually okay with browsing—Nat’s a buyer). This Retro market stop, however, we came across a couple art pieces we couldn’t turn down (the prices tend to be reasonable in the CDC), even if it might mean stretching our suitcases to get them back:

Aren’t those wonderful? We especially were drawn in by the frames, which have a metal layering on them that blends into the picture and adds to overall effect:

We also (okay, honestly, this one was my extra pick) found a sweet six-piece set of Ramazzotti coasters. Ramazotti is an amaro (or Italian slightly bitter, usually digestif-y, drink) both of us have been known to sip, and these coasters called to me (buy us, buy us):

My fav was probably this one, which has a lady carrying a ginormous bottle of Ramazzotti while riding an ostrich:

Now, that’s the kind of Retro market find I can get behind.