Venice’s greengrocers, or FRUTTIVENDOLI, are like a living calendar: their beautiful stands sign the passing of the months as the season change and they are stunning proof of people’s ability to cope with, and adapt to, their environment.
Unfortunately, many of Venice’s small grocery stores have disappeared, not always ousted by the supermarket phenomenon but instead, often victims of the city’s declining population and its ever-increasing tourist industry that caters more to visitors than residents.
The remaining FRUTTIVENDOLI still offer much local produce, usually identified by hand written signs saying SANT’ERASMO, CHIOGGIA, CAVALLINO or VIGNOLE, another place in the lagoon devoted to agriculture.