9th Street Italian Market Sensory Tour
Join us for this immersion into a rich, verbally described and sensory experience of one of the oldest open-air markets in the USA.
Duration
Two hours
Meeting and Finish point
North West Corner of 9th and Christian Streets
Price
$25 per person. Compensated rates of $15 per person may apply. Contact Us for information.
Highlights
- Learn about market's family heritage and meet local store owners and vendors
- Enjoy the rich aromas and tempt the taste buds at venues overflowing with fresh produce, pasta, cheeses, chocolates, flowers, herbs, spices and olive oils
Stops along the way
- Superior Pasta – Meet the owners, whose family has made 'Old World' pasta dishes since 1945. Smell and touch hand cut pasta of different types.
- Anthony's Chocolate House - tempt taste buds with the delicious flavors of homemade gelato and purchase a treat for now or later!
- D'Angelo Bros – Sixth in a generation of family butchers, Sonny D'Angelo prepares an exotic meats and shares stories of his Sicilian roots. Animal pelts of bear, fox and coyote hang at the back of the store – touch if you dare!
- Italian Market Visitor Center – Hear about the market's history and its vendors.
- Di Bruno Brothers Gourmet Food and Specialty Cheeses - an Italian Market staple for over 75 years, this family owned store offers sampling of specialty cheeses and aged balsamic vinegar.
- Grassia's Italian Market Spice Company - Indulge your senses in the fragrance of a wide variety of fresh spices.
- Cardenas Oil and Vinegar Taproom – savor the culinary delights of oils, vinegars, tapenades and curds.
- Tortilleria San Roman - Taste freshly made corn tortillas and sensational salsa.
Directions
Public Transport and Parking Information can be found at this link
Learn more about the Italian Market here
Extra Notes
For shoppers
Bring cash if you plan on buying anything from the market stalls. The stores take credit and debit cards. Also, you might want to bring a bag for your purchases.
For wheelchair users
We are sorry to say that this tour is not wheelchair accessible as sidewalks can be busy and stores are narrow with a few steps.
Reviews
"A Walk of Delectable Delights - Yo!"
As I write this little blurb, while munching a luscious pizzelle I think about my visit to the Italian Market. On May 8th, the "Philly Touch Tours" gave a wonderful tour of the Italian Market. It lasted for about 2 and one half hours and it was worth every minute. What was relaxing about my visit to the market was that "Philly Touch Tours" tours are geared to the members' pace. Philly Touch Tours tour guides or store employees explain the products and owners give the history of particular stores and how they acquired them.
One of the stops was at the Italian Market Visitors' Center. A brief history was given of the market. The market lines Ninth Street from Christian Street to Wharton Street in South Philly. It began in the 1800's when waves of immigrants flooded America. Italian families settled in the area and opened specialty shops, obtaining wares from the port. Over the years, many shops were passed down from generation to generation, while others were begun later with owners of different nationalities.
We visited a variety of different quaint shops with so many unusual items. One shop, "Superior Posta", offers home made pastas of many types and flavors. Joe, who is the owner, gave a brief history about how his family came to own the shop. Another shop, D'Angelo Bros, offers a variety of meats ranging from bison to elk, from pheasant to kangaroo. The owner of this shop also is a taxidermist, and although the general public is not permitted to touch the pelts, he allows members of Philly Touch Tours to feel them to know the various textures of the furs. We also visited stores vending imported cheeses, another selling hundreds of spices, some which are not available in most grocery stores. Other shops specialize in oils and home made tortillas. Also, reasonably priced, fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs line 9th Street make it a joy to look at, not to mention the fresh scents of the produce. And for dessert, we visited a chocolate shop that had all different flavors of home made chocolate, fudge, and iced cream, yeah, to die for!
All in all, it was very interesting; walking this tour was educational and fun!
By Mary E. Brucker, Montgomery County, PA