Italy is water-bound, with thousands of miles of beaches, bays, and inlets. Almost everything that lives in the sea, from swordfish, which the fishermen still harpoon from the bows of their boats in the Straights of Messina, to arselle, little clams that live in the sand below the swash zone and are gathered with strainers, finds its way to the table.
The role of fish in the Italian diet was, in the past, even more important than it is now: Up until the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church required that the faithful eat fish on both Fridays and days of penitence, for example during lent; all large cities had fishmongers to meet the demand, and there were traveling fishmongers who made the rounds of the towns too small to support a specialized store.
I took these photos in the markets of Florence and Rimini, and hope they will help you to decide what might work as a substitute if the Mediterranean fish aren't available where you live.
The role of fish in the Italian diet was, in the past, even more important than it is now: Up until the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church required that the faithful eat fish on both Fridays and days of penitence, for example during lent; all large cities had fishmongers to meet the demand, and there were traveling fishmongers who made the rounds of the towns too small to support a specialized store.
I took these photos in the markets of Florence and Rimini, and hope they will help you to decide what might work as a substitute if the Mediterranean fish aren't available where you live.
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