Huge street market on Sunday mornings, from very early to around 1pm, on the left bank of the Tiber, between Porto Portese and Stazione Trastevere, centred on Via Portuense. The wares are mainly clothes, both old and new. The second-hand clothing stalls are by far the more popular, with the clothes sorted by type (leathers and furs, jeans, coats, children’s clothes, etc) and piled on large tables with everything at the same (low) price. Tables start at 50c, and range up to 20 euro for high-quality leather and fur. Only in Rome would you find ladies of a certain age, immaculately made-up, and dressed in this season’s mink, enthusiastically rummaging through old clothes.
It gets rougher towards the station, with illegal immigrants -- mainly Balkan rather than black these days -- selling things of little visible value from sheets on the ground, ready to gather everything up and run if anyone in authority appears.
The antiques part is mainly north of the main road, from Via E. Rolli towards Ippolito Niero. This part of the market is mixed in among apartment blocks, with few through roads and many cul-de-sacs, so it’s easy to miss sections. I’m not certain I got around everywhere myself before they started packing up. There’s a good mix of stuff for sale, from flashy imitation gear, through second-hand and household goods, to prints and books, silverware, and pukkah antiques. At the junction of Porto Portuense and E. Rolli there’s the Russian enclave, with Maryoshka dolls, lacquered boxes, amber, Red Army insignia and caps, but also dentist's tools, cameras, and binoculars.
This is a serious flea market, and a good antidote if you’re feeling overwhelmed by culture. Prices vary and are fully negotiable.