In Autumn, from November to December, you may run into several antique market stalls in Venice, a city where time seems to stand still. Here, crafts traditions and a taste for vintage are still lively,  so you have plenty of opportunities to visit a local flea and antique market in search of another time - perhaps lost?You don't need to be a collector or an expert, you can just wander around, guided by your instinct, and discover with amazement things of daily life, from the past and the present.
On Sunday 20th and Monday 21th November - coinciding with the Madonna della Salute Feast - there is the Polvere di Ricordi market in the San Polo sestiere, at Campo San Silvestro and Campo dell'Erbaria, and in the Dorsoduro sestiere, at Campo Sant'Agnese: those who love used objects here can find antique furniture, prints, old books, murrine, silverware, toys, records and collectibles of all kinds.

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th December is the turn of the Mercatino dei Miracoli (Miracoli Market), at Campo Santa Maria Nova and the surroundings, in the pictoresque sestiere Cannaregio. For lovers of antiques and collectibles the Mercatino dei Miracoli is certainly the unmissable event in Venice: a small market with stalls full of antiques and used pieces for collectors and hobbyists, prints, books and comics that very often come from the houses of the Venetians.

From Friday 16th to Sunday 18th December, you will find high-quality furniture, crystals or glass design, kitchen utensils and musical instruments, but also silver, old books, or prints, hidden among the stands of traditional antiques market in Campo San Maurizio, a few minutes from Piazza San Marco, an event that happens every year since 1970. No wonder what are the reasons why antique lovers search for old things of the past: each of these objects contains a story that tells us about another time, what remains of a past that still lives on in stories and things.

Here are the Venice antique & flea markets calendar for 2012:

MERCATINO DEI MIRACOLI (MIRACOLI MARKET)

Saturday 24th and Sunday March 25th
Wednesday April 25th
Saturday 12ve and Sunday May 13th
Saturday 8th and Sunday September 9th
Saturday 13th and Sunday October 14th
Saturday 8th and Sunday December 9th

ROBE DA MAR MARKET - VIA GARIBALDI
Sunday February 19th (Last Sunday of Carnival)
Sunday April 1st
Tuesday May 1st
Saturday June 2nd
Sunday September 30th
Sunday of October (Venice Marathon)

MERCATINO DEI RICORDI MARKET
Saturday 10th and Sunday March 11th
Campo dell'Erbaria
Saturday 6th and Sunday October 7th
Campo San Silvestro
Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st November
(at Campo Sant'Agnese, in conjunction with the Madonna della Salute feast)


(Francesca Perotto)