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The Mercat de Sant Antoni is the largest municipal market in Barcelona, with a commercial area of 15,000 square meters and 52 stalls selling fresh products. And it is the most energy efficient in Spain.
The progressive development of military technique between the 16th and 17th centuries made it necessary to improve the medieval defensive structure. In the case of Barcelona, as in other cities, bastions were built at strategic points of the wall, designed to resist the impacts of artillery and, at the same time, to carry out offensive actions.
The origins of the Sant Antoni market date back to the time of Barcino, the Roman city that precedes modern-day Barcelona and from which the walls date, which were reinforced with bastions in the 17th century and delimited the territorial extension of the city up to the half of the 19th century.
It was around the second century, between the years of 270 and 300 BC. C. that Claudius II, the then ruler of Barcino, in the face of frequent attacks from other towns, ordered to reinforce the protection of the city through the construction of a wall on the bases of the already existing one that dated from the 1st century BC. C. This was made up of a double wall, whose thickness was between two and eight meters, and 81 towers eighteen meters high; ten of them with the characteristic of having a semicircular base, and not rectangular like most.
On June 19, 1644, at the initiative of the Consell de Cent (a consultative body created by James I in 1232, made up of the most authoritative figures, both governmental, judicial and municipal), during the War of the Reapers, 1640 and 1652 (the Catalan reapers rose up in Barcelona against Philip IV). The first thing was the construction of a bastion in front of the old portal of Sant Antoni. Its plan had a pentagonal shape and its section was typical Renaissance, with a coved parameter (inclination of the face of a wall or land), built with stone ashlars from Montjuïc.
In the middle of the 19th century, the fortification was partially demolished. This reform allowed the opening of a direct exit from the city from Sant Antoni Abad street; It was the so-called "main road of Madrid".
The construction of the San Antoni market began in 1879 and was completed in September 1882, according to a project by the Catalan architect Antoni Rovira i Trias (Barcelona, May 27, 1816 - Barcelona, May 2, 1889) and José M. Cornet i Mas, (Barcelona, 1839 - 1916), politician, businessman and industrial engineer. And it was inaugurated by the then mayor Francesc de Paula Rius i Taulet.
The construction of the San Antonio market meant the demolition of the remains of the bastion that remained standing and the cancellation of the road.
Originally it was an open-air market located at the southern entrance to the walled city of Barcelona, specifically, in front of the Sant Antoni gate.
It was the first market to be built outside the ancient city and its location obeys the original plan of Ildefons Cerdà i Sunyer, (Centelles, December 23, 1815 – Las Caldas del Besaya, August 21, 1876), who was an economist. , engineer, jurist, politician and reformed urban planner of Eixample commissioned by the Ministry of Public Works. He proposed the construction of a structure to guarantee the permanence of the market and improve the supply of the entire city of Barcelona, which did not have enough with the markets within the walls.
Its evolution began in 1915 with an open market, in 1916 it became covered; In 1932, there was remodeling, as in 1976, 1996 and 2006, until 2009 when the Mercat de Sant Antoni was renovated again.
The market has had three documented interventions after its construction. The first of them was after a study carried out in 1986 about the state of the building and what was necessary to make structural reforms. The next was in 1992 when the facades were repainted for the centenary of its inauguration, and the last of them in 2007, when the Barcelona City Council held a competition to remodel it. The selected project was for Ravetllat Ribas Arquitectes, who were the authors of the rehabilitation project that began in 2009 and reopened in May 2018.
In 2007 they began the comprehensive rehabilitation of the facilities, with the construction of the provisional market, installing three provisional tents to house each of the markets, in Ronda Sant Antoni and in Calle del Comte Urgell, which allowed commercial activity to continue during the remodeling of the new market.
In 2009, the site was permanently closed and part of the facilities began to be demolished, giving way to the beginning of the new architectural project, which would later be remodeled, due to the findings of archaeological remains of the Via Augusta Romana that belonged to the coastal branch of the first "road" of the Peninsula and the existence of an important necropolis next to the entrance road to the Roman city Barcino, as well as the remains of the bastion of San Antonio, the same ones that were incorporated into the building and can now be visited.
A work that connects with the past, present and future. A crossing with a lot of history (1st century BC), with Roman Barcelona, colony Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino, which was the name that the Romans gave to Barcelona, after its founding on Mont Táber (highest point of the Roman colony).
2,000 workers were employed in the rehabilitation. The underground extraction work moves a total volume of 180,000 m³. The construction of the screen wall 40 meters deep of the foundations, 85 km of pipes and 4.5 million kg of iron is carried out. They forge the main pillars, 24 columns -piló that support the market.
During the construction the history of the city appears, the architectural project is remodeled to adapt to the "finds found", remains of the necropolis and Roman road, preservation remains of the Roman road necropolis for a future space, bastion and counterscarp (conserved 80 m of bastion, 72 m of back wall), with a new technical challenge: preserving the findings of archaeological remains and continuing the construction of the underground floors: shoring up the wall bastion and counterscarp, and the recovery of the medieval moat, the new lobby and passage space.
Roof and façade: Consolidation of the structure, new roof, with wood insulation, heritage rehabilitation, 45,000 tiles, damaged pillars are rehabilitated and new ones are built with the same design, tiles are used (7,500 pieces), 100,000 are the original ones (the restored ones are relocated to the Urgell façade), as well as wrought iron. The work covered a total constructed area of 53,388 m² inside.
The Mercat has one floor at street level and four underground floors.
It houses the food market and part of the Encants. With an interior layout of a cross in the shape of a cross, which means that the market has four doors that face Tamarit street, Comte d'Urgell street, Manso street and Comte Borrell street. Part of the Encans is located in the exterior corridors.
Outside the market we see part of the Encants, which converges with Tamarit street, and the Mercat Dominical, which is installed under canopies around the market and its facilities also coincide with the four streets of the Mercat de Sant Antoni.
Food establishment, non-food establishment, neighborhood space, offices, passage to the medieval moat, Roman museum space and an artistic space.
300 parking spaces.
Warehouses, loading and unloading.
The stops:
231 establishments: 52 fresh food products; 101 of the charms and 78 of the Sunday.
7,100 m² of outdoor plazas and new public spaces have been created, the Superilla (traffic calming zone for neighborhood use), canopies for the Sunday market, and the spacious moat have been built.
The Mercat de San Antonio building is cataloged as a Cultural Property of Local Interest (BCIL), in accordance with the Market Protection cataloging levels. The metal structure, typical of the markets of this era, opens up a space that occupies the entirety of a block in the Eixample de Cerdà, an area large enough to accommodate the stalls that supply the Sant Antoni neighborhood today.
It is worth highlighting the grandeur of the building, the roof of the central octagon, the exterior cladding of the glazed ceramic enclosure referring to traditional Catalan decoration, the recovered triangular patios, in addition to facilitating visibility and access to the building. Its ideal spaces host a series of elements and diverse activities within the culture, making this place special.
The San Antonio Market has become a heritage building recovered for the future, an entire urban transformation, crossing our history of commercial life, sustainability, and neighborhood life, in short "into an icon of the city of Barcelona".
The building and its surroundings of the Mercado de Sant Antoni, located in the Eixample Esquerre of Barcelona, hosts three markets in one: the San Antoni fresh food market; the Charms of Sant Antoni (the charms), also known as that of clothing; and the Sunday of Sant Antoni, that of books and stamps.
1. Sant Antoni fresh food market
Where you can find excellent stops with vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, delicatessens... To prepare this report in La Vanguardia Readers' Photos, we discussed with Yolanda, a clerk at the delicatessen, the advantages that the remodeling of the stop has represented. Answer the following:
"The sales space has been improved with more depth, which allows us to better serve the customer, greater proximity, improve visibility to customers of the products on display, where it allows us to highlight the quality and hygiene of our products, and also maintain a temperature in summer and winter it is pleasant to shop or work (not getting cold in winter). Another advantage is that all the stops are at street level."
We asked Roser, a regular customer of the market, what improvements would she highlight?
"I think the market has benefited both parties, probably the customers a little more, not only because of the location of all the stops, better visibility of the products, but also because of the greater space in the aisles that allows circulation with the shopping cart within the marking with greater comfort. Another advantage is that all the stops are at street level and the facilities meet the necessary accessibility conditions so that people with reduced mobility or functional diversity can move comfortably and autonomy through the Market. This is an area for older people."
Note of interest. The opening hours of the Mercat de Sant Antoni are from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
2. Charms of Sant Antoni
At the beginning of the 20th century, Parallel textile merchants and other non-food products began to locate around the market to take advantage of the crowds and improve their commercial activity.
This is how the Mercat dels Encants de Sant Antoni was born, where you can find during the week, stalls inside and outside the market of all kinds of (clothes, shoes, household utensils...)
We asked Gemma, owner of a stall, how many years has she been in business? "I've been working at the stall for 30 years and always selling clothes," she responds. We heard that they called her Antoñita, we tell her. "I'm used to it, it's common for some long-time clients to get lost and change my name," she says.
Note of interest. The schedule of the Mercat dels Encants de Sant Antoni. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
3. Saint Anthony's Sunday
The Sant Antoni Sunday market is one of the most charming historical markets in Barcelona, and as its name indicates, it is held every Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. outside the market.
At the Sunday market you can find a wide variety of items related to collecting, culture and leisure, such as sticker albums, cinema, philately, books, minerals, music, numismatics, magazines and video games, all of them, are the true protagonists of the Sunday market.
It is one of the few markets left in Barcelona for items, both new and second-hand, where one of the main characteristics is that it is an ideal place to go with your family, stopping at a leisurely stop to touch , search and ask about the item, buy, exchange, or browse.
The combination of these three markets produces complementary synergies, which contribute with their offer to generating a very dynamic retail area that is difficult to reproduce anywhere else, and above all, allows you to spend a pleasant Sunday morning, which makes it an ideal place for everyone.
We asked Ramón, who is accompanied by his 10-year-old son Ángel, what they are looking for. "My son, the stickers he needs to complete the album he is making; me, a book by Ken Follett, Josep Pla and Ferran Garcia," he responds.
It is common to find artists rehearsing in the market pit space, such as the tightrope walkers, Pedro and Juan or María Clara (Brazilian) who comes to practice yoga every day. Also Pedro, who sang and played the guitar, and Rick's disciples, with their Hip Hop dances, which liven up this artistic space of peace and tranquility.
Now we stop at what is probably one of the most successful newcomer stops at the Mercat. It is a spacious, comfortable, modern place, full of light, adapted to meet the expectations of the most demanding client. It occupies four stops and in front is Jordi Asín, grandson of the late Juanito Bayén (who was the owner and alma mater of the historic Mercat de la Boqueria stop), his wife María José and his son Dídac. .
It offers the same Catalan cuisine dishes as always: Santa Pau beans with squid, ham croquettes, veal fricandó with potatoes, scrambled mushrooms with trumpets of death, chickpeas, heavy and seafood of the day and, to finish, the classic “xuixo”.
If you decide to visit the market, I recommend that you visit the Pinotxo bar to replenish your strength, I have done it, and the only difference I have found with the one in La Boqueria is that here, there is more space. (Hours: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.).
