In the Mediterranean, for many centuries the markets lived like the people, in the open air and the cloth awnings were placed on the stalls more to protect them from too much sun than from rain, which was quite a rarity. Possibly the main reason for covering the markets was complaints from neighbours sick of the not-always-delicate smells, the rubbish, the regular rows between stallholders, the shouting and, ultimately, the racket, which must have been such that, in this country, the phrase "It sounds like Calaf market" refers to a genuine Catalan-style Tower of Babel. In markets people shout, but they also whisper, and, before there were newspapers, radio and television, they were the best place to find out everything going on in the town and the world. There were jobs there, as well as idling, and all this gradually made up a full fabric of everyday life reflecting liveliest facets of the citizens. Because, in the Mediterranean, markets are as old as the peoples who arrived there and, in Barcelona - a crossroads and meeting point of sea and land routes - they gathered great momentum. We cannot help mention the pleasure for the senses of a walk through a market. And Barcelona, as it does in so many things, excels in markets. Here we present an interesting summary on the Barcelona City Council website. Don't miss it.

http://www.bcn.es/mercatsmunicipals/