Mercato delle Erbe
Bologna's Mercato delle Erbe is one of the most popular places in the city, both with tourists and with the Bolognese. In addition to its original vocation as a fruit and vegetable market, it now hosts a number of cafés and restaurants as well, created inside the old grocery shops.
Origins
Designed by architects Arturo Carpi and Luigi Melucci on a site that previously housed a barracks and before that the church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, Bologna's Mercato delle Erbe is a fairly recent building. Its inauguration dates back to
1910, a time when many cities were moving their fruit and vegetable markets from the open spaces of squares to enclosed and protected structures that guaranteed greater hygiene and decorum. This was the
birth of covered markets such as Bologna's Mercato delle Erbe and its Modenese analogue, the Mercato Albinelli, erected in the 1930s on the very model of the Bolognese building.
The
glass and iron construction, avant-garde for the period, immediately won the admiration of the Bolognese, who also made it a favourite place for shopping for a wide variety of foodstuffs. The stalls of the Mercato delle Erbe sold fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese and much more, products that can still be purchased today.
Over the decades, the market has changed shape and partly also its vocation. The structure was in fact
bombed during the Second World War, and later rebuilt rather faithfully to the original. In more recent times, it was also awarded the title of historic market, and therefore its premises are now subject to special constraints. The signs of the old shops, for example, cannot be changed, and still stand on the newly opened premises.
The Mercato delle Erbe today
Regarding the vocation of the place, the Mercato delle Erbe still hosts some
colourful stalls full of fruit and vegetables, and
local delicacies such as cured meats, cheeses (including the ever-present Parmigiano Reggiano) and Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Side by side with the more historic shops, however, are more recent places, the result of a recent reorganisation of the market area.
The rethinking of the area took place in the wake of a phase of crisis in the market itself, and culminated in 2014 with the inauguration of new spaces for
restaurants, nightclubs, take-aways and wine bars, which attract many young people, especially at weekends.
The reason for such a success is also to be found in the birth of a number of very fashionable bars on Via Belvedere, the street that opens up at the back of the building, perfect for an aperitif or an after-dinner drink. An example? The Senza Nome bar, run by deaf-mute people.
