Globalization and Micro-scale Changes in the Food Culture of an Open-air Market in the Sicilian City of Catania

In the Sicilian city of Catania, public markets remain a principal form of food distribution that play an important role in the local economy, enhance the attractiveness of the city for both residents and tourists, and contribute to enriching the quality of urban life. One of Catania's largest and oldest open-air markets has experienced transformations resulting in expanded offierings of non-food items, an increase in unregulated products and extra-EU vendors, and greater availability of non-local food and food-related goods. The increased substitution of local with non-local, in terms of both people and goods, presents challenges to the identity of the market as one of the city's most classic cultural icons. In this poster we present observations from an ongoing study using time-series ground and aerial photography , field surveys, and geographic informaiton system methods to document changes that reflect recent trends in globalization at a micro-scale.