Mercat Central, Art Nouveau marketplace in Tarragona, Spain
Mercat Central is a market hall in Tarragona with three interior sections divided by wrought iron columns and surrounded by stone walls. Large arched windows along the structure bring natural light into the space where vendors and shoppers gather.
Around 1915, architect Josep Maria Pujol i de Barberà designed the building on a former square to gather scattered vendor locations from across the city into one place. This consolidation made shopping more convenient and organized for residents.
The market's name appears in stone letters across the main arch, and the building is listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest. Its ironwork and decorative carvings mix Art Nouveau with pointed arches and doorways in a neo-medieval taste. Vendors returned to the hall in March 2017 after stalls spent nearly a decade in a temporary building on Plaça Corsini.
The market faces Plaça Corsini, a short walk west of Rambla Nova. During the 2007–2017 renovation, stalls moved to a temporary building on that same square. The main entrance is through the large central arch, and the side arches lead to the lateral sections.
The round clock set inside the great central arch is the detail most visitors walk past. The facade above it carries a band of round medallions linked by a scalloped molding, each bearing a letter that spells "MERCAT CENTRAL" across the arch, with a carved crown-like ornament at the apex.
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