Testaccio Market is open Monday to Saturday from 07:00 to 15:30, and it is closed on Sundays. Come at lunchtime for a sandwich at Mordi e Vai or pizza at CasaManco, then stay in the neighbourhood for dinner.
Testaccio is where much of Rome’s traditional cooking took shape. Below are the stalls, trattorias and shops we would choose, with the hours checked on 6 November 2026 and the route from our apartments.
What are the opening hours of Testaccio Market?
The Mercato di Testaccio publishes its hours as Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 15:30. Individual stalls keep shorter hours, so treat 15:30 as the very latest. The two food counters below close at 14:30 or 15:00.
The market has about 100 stalls under one roof. There are four entrances, on Via Beniamino Franklin, Via Alessandro Volta, Via Aldo Manuzio and Via Lorenzo Ghiberti. You do not need a ticket or a booking.
For the best choice of produce, come in the morning. For the food counters, arrive before 12:30, when the lunch queue starts to form.
How do you get to Testaccio from the Colosseum?
Take metro line B two stops, from Colosseo to Piramide. Colosseo station is five minutes on foot from San Giovanni I and San Giovanni II. It is eight minutes from Marco Aurelio, at Via Marco Aurelio 43.
From Piramide, the market is 12 minutes on foot. You pass the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, a Roman tomb from between 18 and 12 BC, as you leave the station.
You can also walk the whole way. It is about 2.8 kilometres and 38 minutes from Via Marco Aurelio 43 to the market. The route is pleasant in the morning and a good way to arrive hungry.
What should you eat at Testaccio Market?
Start with a sandwich. Mordi e Vai, at Box 15, fills soft rolls with Roman stews. The one people queue for is allesso di scottona, slow-boiled beef, with the bread dipped in the cooking broth. Ask for chicory on the side.
Its Google listing gives the hours as 10:00 to 14:30 from Monday to Thursday, and 10:00 to 15:00 on Friday and Saturday. On Mondays it opens at 10:15.
For pizza, go to CasaManco, at Box 22. It sells pizza by weight and supplì, Rome’s fried rice balls, from 09:30 to 14:30, Monday to Saturday. No booking is needed at either counter.
The rest of the market is still a neighbourhood food market. Fruit, vegetables, fish and meat stalls sit beside the street food. You can buy a picnic here, or dinner to cook at home.
Why is there an archaeological site under the market?
The market stands on the plain of ancient Rome’s river port. Turismo Roma explains that this plain held the Emporium and its warehouses. Excavation under the market uncovered a building from the age of Trajan and Hadrian, and walls made from stacked, reused amphorae.
Visits to the underground area are free when they run, but the market’s website says they are currently suspended for renovation works. Check there before planning around them.
Why is Testaccio known for Roman food?
Two things shaped this neighbourhood: the port and the slaughterhouse. Monte Testaccio, the hill behind the market, is made entirely of broken amphorae. They carried oil from southern Spain, and Turismo Roma dates the mound to between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD.
The Mattatoio, built between 1888 and 1891 by Gioacchino Ersoch, then brought meat to the district. Local kitchens learned to cook the quinto quarto, or fifth quarter. These are the tail, tripe and other cuts left after the four quarters of the carcass were sold.
Those dishes remain on the menus here: coda alla vaccinara, oxtail stew, and rigatoni con la pajata, pasta with milk-fed veal intestine. The Mattatoio is now a cultural centre for exhibitions and performance.
Which trattorias in Testaccio should you book?
Book all four of these for dinner, and for lunch at weekends. They are within a few minutes of each other, and of the market.
Felice a Testaccio, at Via Mastro Giorgio 29, has been here since 1936. It is the address for tonnarelli cacio e pepe, finished at the table.
It opens every day from 12:30 to 15:30 and from 19:00 to 23:30. Tables go quickly, so reserve on its website. We cover it in more detail in our guide to Rome’s city-centre trattorias. It is 33 minutes on foot from Via di San Giovanni in Laterano 84.
Perilli, at Via Marmorata 39, dates from 1911. The menu is a full Roman list, with rigatoni alla carbonara, bucatini all’amatriciana and rigatoni con pajata.
It serves from 12:15 to 15:00 and from 19:15 to 22:30, and it is closed on Sunday evenings and all day Monday. Book by phone, WhatsApp or through its website. It is six minutes from Piramide metro.
Flavio al Velavevodetto, at Via di Monte Testaccio 97, is built against the hill itself. Glass panels show the ancient pottery fragments behind the dining room. Its Google listing gives daily hours of 12:30 to 15:00 and 19:30 to 23:00. Book online.
Checchino dal 1887, at Via di Monte Testaccio 30, is the formal choice, run by the same family for six generations. Its oxtail is braised for about five hours with celery, pine nuts, raisins and a little bitter chocolate. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, from 12:30 to 15:00 and from 19:30 to 23:00. Book on its website or by phone.
Where can you get pizza and street food in the evening?
Pizzeria Remo has been on Piazza di Santa Maria Liberatrice since 1976. The pizza is thin, Roman and rolled by hand, and it comes out of a wood oven in about a minute.
Remo does not take bookings. You arrive, wait for a table, and the turnover is quick. Its Google listing gives the hours as 19:00 to 01:00, Monday to Saturday.
Trapizzino, at Via Giovanni Branca 88, is four minutes from the market. Its triangular pockets of pizza dough are stuffed with Roman dishes such as oxtail or meatballs in sauce. Google lists it as open from 12:00 to midnight, and until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. It is an easy choice if you missed the market or want something quick.
What can you take home from Testaccio?
Volpetti, at Via Marmorata 47, is the neighbourhood’s well-known delicatessen, here since 1973. It sells cured meats, cheeses, baked goods, oils, honey and wine. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 09:00 to 20:30.
A few doors along, Pasticceria Barberini, at Via Marmorata 41, is the place for coffee and pastries. It opens at 06:00 every day and closes at 21:00, or 20:00 on Sundays. Both are six minutes from Piramide metro, so they work well as a last stop on the way back to the train.
What is there to do in Testaccio after lunch?
Walk to the Non-Catholic Cemetery, at Via Caio Cestio 6, four minutes from Piramide. John Keats and Antonio Gramsci are buried here, and the walls look onto the pyramid.
It is open from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Saturday, and from 09:00 to 13:00 on Sundays and public holidays. Last entry is half an hour before closing. A donation of five euros is suggested.
If you have more energy, the Aventine rises just above Via Marmorata. Our guide to free viewpoints in Rome covers the Orange Garden and the Knights of Malta keyhole, both up the hill from here.
Common questions
Is Testaccio Market open on Sunday? No. It opens Monday to Saturday only, from 07:00 to 15:30. Felice, Flavio al Velavevodetto, Checchino and Trapizzino all open on Sundays. Perilli opens for Sunday lunch only.
What time should you go to Testaccio Market? Go before 12:30 if you want the widest choice and a short queue. Mordi e Vai and CasaManco can close by 14:30, even though the market’s closing time is 15:30.
Do you need to book a restaurant in Testaccio? Yes for the four trattorias, especially at dinner. Pizzeria Remo does not take bookings, and the market counters and Trapizzino work on a walk-in basis.
How far is Testaccio from the Colosseum? Two stops on metro line B, from Colosseo to Piramide, then a short walk. On foot, allow about 35 to 40 minutes from our apartments to the market.
Can you visit the Roman remains under the market? Not at the moment. The market’s website says visits are suspended for renovation works. When they run, they are free guided tours that must be booked.
Before you go
Testaccio rewards an empty stomach and an unhurried day. Take the metro for a late morning at the market and walk to the cemetery after lunch. If you plan to stay for dinner, book one of the trattorias. For meals closer to home, see our guide to restaurants near the Colosseum.
