History

The site, the old Contrada delle Carceri, had held butchers, a slaughterhouse and a fish market since the nineteenth century. Under the mayor Luigi Albinelli the area was rebuilt, and in 1931 a covered market in Liberty style replaced the open stalls.

Great care went into hygiene — marble counters for the fishmongers, running water at every station, a floor laid for easy washing — and into appearance: a light iron structure, decorative metalwork, and at the centre Graziosi’s fountain, its bronze girl carrying a basket of fruit. The market opened on 28 October 1931.

Almost a century on, the Albinelli still trades, its original ironwork and counters largely intact.