Santa Caterina's Market

Santa Caterina's Market is a market situated in the Santa Catalina neighbourhood in the district of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. It was one of the first covered markets in Barcelona, dating back to 1848. In the past, the market's area was occupied by the church and convent of Santa Catalina of the Dominican Order or the Order of Preachers. However, in 1835 both buildings were destroyed. The construction of the market began nine years later, in 1844 by Josep Mas i Vila. Today, the remains of the convent's walls have been refurbished and they can be visited along with the market.

In 1997 the City Hall made the decision to revitalize the markets in Barcelona. Thus, one of the best architectonic companies, EMBT, owned by Enric Miralles and Benedett Tagliabue, was commissioned to remodel Santa Caterina's Market. They designed an innovative roof of the market with a wavy shape and colours of different fruits and vegetables. The project was carried out in collaboration with the cartoonist Tony Comella, who designed the multicoloured mosaic of the roof, and Jose Maria Velasco Rivas, who engineered the construction of the structure. As a result, the roof is one of the biggest attractions of the place, evoking images of multicoloured sea of fruits and vegetables. The remodernization of the market's building lasted from 1997 to 2005. Sadly, one of the main architects working on the project, Enric Miralles, did not live to see the end result of his work, as he died unexpectedly in 2000.