Market life in the Mediterranean not only has had an importance for the past thousand years; it is important today. The market is not only where economic life happens, it is where communities and peoples meet and relate to one another, where they share stories and foods.
The growth of the modern supermarket in the Mediterranean means that the local markets are becoming smaller and less important. As that trend continues it’s possible that the Mediterranean will become as bland as an American supermarket. But I’m optimistic because even in America the farmers markets that have grown rapidly around this country demonstrated that people do want to have them and be engaged with them.

Clifford A. Wright
cookbook author
‘Markets of the Mediterranean’