By Brendan Roth
URBINO, Italy – On a sunny Saturday morning, dozens of trucks and vans drive to the highest point in the Renaissance town.
Quickly they park, and canopies blossom from their roofs, quickly transforming into a line of shops three football fields long.
The newly crafted market sells everything from produce, meat, hand-crafted hats, shoes and women’s lingerie.
Vanessa Giovanelli offering us fried vegtables smiling right before the market starts, July, 2023. By Donovan Eveslage
However, a truck wearing the title Dalla Padella Alla Brace – From the Frying pan to the Grill – seems especially popular with the growing crowd. Part of its appeal undoubtedly is the irresistible aroma of seafood sizzling on its grills and in its fryers. But just as big a draw is the twins serving up those treats.
Veruska and Vanessa Giovanelli, are joking with their swarm of customers, yelling to passers-by and arguing playfully with other vendors – all the while they are satisfying hungry customers by cooking and serving their delicious seafood.
Veruska and Vanessa are small in stature, but they have personalities that stand out, even in a loud crowded market. They always arrive at the stylish dressed, wearing makeup and hand selected outfits that show off the many colorful tattoos covering their upper backs and shoulders.
“We used to be shy but now we use the way we look to show off a small part of how unique we are,” said Vanessa. “It would just be too quiet without us.”
Veruska jokes, “We are simply the most beautiful!”
And Vanessa responded, “And most humble, of course.”
The rolling weekly markets are a tradition in Italian towns, serving as portable Walmarts supplying locals with everything they need as well as saving them the time and costs of driving long distances. But they also serve as gathering places to see old friends and meet new ones. Indeed, it is not unheard of to meet one’s spouse in the crowd, as local cafe owner Giovanni Garbugli jokes, “you could even buy a wife at the market.”
The community of vendors seem to enjoy friendly rivalries, especially the twins. When a truck driven by a vendor clearly known by the sisters passed by, Vanessa flipped the driver a one finger salute then yelled obscenities at him, only to bring a plate of fish over to the man an hour later.
The Giovanelli family has been involved in this unique community for three generations. Photos on their truck – their fifth – trace its humble beginnings.
It was started in 1972 by the twins’ maternal grandfather. Later, when their father, Eutisio Giovanelli, retired from the military and needed a job, he joined the business. Soon he was joined, by their mother, Luciana Tiziano. Eutisio and Luciana said at the start it was just a job, and not an easy one.
“We showed up while there was poor weather and stayed despite sometimes feeling like it wasn’t worth it,” he said.
Eutisio still comes with his daughters to the market, but the torch has certainly been passed to Vanessa and Veruska, who now three children between them. And while Veruska’s son is an auto mechanic and will help work on the truck if problems arise, the twins expressed their disappointment that their kids aren’t interested in running the fish truck.
Vanessa joked, “This job may be a bit too smelly for them.” But in a more serious manner confessed, “We are scared this may be the last generation to run the truck.”
Running the fish stand requires commitment to a tight weekly schedule.
Mondays they buy the seafood for the next markets. Tuesday and Wednesday they prepare different selections, such as spices for shrimp that will be grilled, calamari that will be fried, and vegetables such as potatoes and zucchini, bell peppers, some of which will be stuffed with cheese.
Thursday, they travel to the market in Urbania, 55 miles from their home in the coastal town of Misano Adriatico.
Friday it’s on to Fermignano, 48 miles away.
Saturday they drive to Urbino, just 25 miles on the road but the largest and last of their weekly market stops.
Sunday isn’t a complete day off. That’s when they take care of tasks the business needs or fixing any mechanical problems that may arise.
The biggest struggle they face comes from working partially outside, January to December.
“The cold weather is brutal,” Vanessa remarked. “In the winter it’s hard, we are often cold, but we work every day of the year on Dalla Padella Alla Brace.”
Despite the work, the travel, and the weather the sisters have not lost their passion for the life.
“It came from when we were young and started working with our father,” Veruska said. “We loved being around people and were happy in the atmosphere.”
Eutisio, looked on with a smile, and some wonder.
“I couldn’t imagine the success we have today when we first started,” he said. “It was truly a struggle at first. We were just trying to work, but it has become a beautiful surprise.
