Mercat de Santa Caterina - Santa Caterina Market in El Born
Food market from 1848 with remodelled roof (2005) by Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue. contains a small display area preserving historic ruins
About Santa Caterina Market
Across the main road from the Barcelona Cathedral lies an interesting building with an undulating, brightly coloured roof. This cathedral like roof covers Santa Caterina market.
Santa Caterina Market History
In 1835 a convent was demolished to create space for the Market. The square of Santa Caterina was formerly called the square of the Carts, in which a pitcher fair was held on the day of Sant Domanec. The monks of Santa Caterina had a well in the cloister, the mouth of which disappeared in one of the old renovations of the Market. The water in that well was considered miraculous to cure malaria and in order to prevent the water from being polluted, a pitcher was used fetch the water, which is why the pitcher fair was set up.
The market began in 1844 and was inaugurated in 1848 after a royal decree granted the Barcelona City Council old ecclesiastical land to proceed with its construction. The architect was Josep Mas Vila. He drew up an ambitious first project that would far exceed the squares and markets that existed at the time in Plaça del Born and Plaça de Sant Josep de la Boqueria but this plan was never constructed as it required the acquisition of adjacent land.
Nevertheless, the Market began, provisionally, In 1846 with a fishmonger's shop and several stalls. During the post civil war period, in the 1940s, it was the centre of supply for the local population and neighbouring towns of Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, El Masnou, Mataró. People travelled to the market with the trams that terminated in Carrer de Trafalgar and Ronda de Sant Pere.
The last renovation project to add the roof was awarded to the team of architects of EMBT (Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliablue) and was "an ambitious proposal that goes beyond the rehabilitation and conservation of the market building, betting on a global revitalization of the market and its surroundings with a burst of colours and shapes".
Image Gallery for Santa Caterina Market
Click on any of the 16 images to open full screen gallery player
