espresso with mussolini

There is an amazing wholesale green market in Milan, unfortunately closed to the public. Of course, not going there wasn't an option - so Davide's friend who owns a vegetable stand sneaked Davide, his girlfriend and me in in the back of his van. Huge green market, great looking produce, people buying, selling, yelling at each other, forklifts speeding around - we even saw the police arresting a prostitute.
We stopped by the only bar in the market to have a coffee - it was a fascist bar with a picture of Benito Mussolini on the wall. Although I don't like mixing politics with food or art, the espresso was great. Well, it's freedom of speech, use it or lose it.


Apparently a lot of shady things are going on in the market, there were some arrests there recently - so no one really wants you there walking around and taking pictures. Davide's girlfriend got caught, kicked out and forced to pay a 70 euro fine; the two of us weren't with her at the time and got away, I guess cause we look like terroni ( a derogatory term for southern Italians) :)




Here is what i found on Google about the meaning of the word TERRONI:

"There is a really bad word that the northern Italians have created for the southern Italians : "terroni." This word is very bad, it's as bad as saying the "n" word to a black person."

"Terroni is a pejorative term for southern Italians slung mostly by hooligans in the North, a rough word meaning “peasant” but with strong overtones of “mud people” that I’ve mostly heard directed at Napoli soccer players by ultras in Bergamo and Milano."