Situated in the centre of Ciutat Vella, in Ribera Quarter, Santa Caterina Market has been an exceptional witness of Barcelona history as it was the first covered market in the city.
In 1835, Santa Caterina Convent was knocked down during the revolutions occurred at that time. By a real decree, that lot was given to Barcelona Town Hall to build the market, the construction started in 1844. The market was opened in 1848, trying to favour the food supply for the city popular sector and to have a place in the city devoted to wholesale and retail commerce.
The Architect Josep Mas Villa designed a first ambitious project, making
a great effort to create a market that could be more important and more functional
than the existing market places at that time. The project did not succeed
because
The government in Madrid opposed the idea of selling the adjacent lots that
were necessary for building the market.
Despite this fact, the market started to function provisionally. In 1846,
a fishmonger had already been installed and also other stands that had been
auctioned to contribute to the building financing.
During the post-war, it was the supplying centre for the population and for other nearby towns. This market was a great impulse for Barcelona traditional commerce.
The traditional commerce is, and has ever been, the quarter’s vital motor. A city without retail commerce is a city with out life. The quarters ’ shops offer a familiar service and a more human and personal relationship.
Barcelona has ever been and it is a traditional commercial city. The small shops contribute to develop the quarters, offering jobs for a big number of people and making money circulate.
The market are the vertebrate axis of commercial areas where the real commercial motors of the quarters are situated and operate. This reality is shown when the markets move the customers follow them.
