Verónicas Food Market

Since the 15th century, a market had been held in the Arenal de Murcia area—now known as the Plano de San Francisco—where the Puerta de la Aduana gate in the city wall opened and taxes were collected on goods entering and leaving the city. In 1712, the old Thursday market was moved there, to the space that had become available after part of the San Francisco convent was demolished, and by the end of that century, the market and the fish market were already established there.

In 1799, records mention a small market square with vendors’ stalls, small cafés, and taverns beneath the colonnaded portico of the Palacio del Almudí. When that portico was removed, plans were made to provide the area with its own building: Juan José Belmonte designed an eclectic-style structure in 1850, which was renovated in 1864 by Jerónimo Ros but demolished in the early 20th century.

The current building was designed and constructed by architect Pedro Cerdán between 1912 and 1916, in a sober Modernist style characterized by large side arcades alternating with reddish-brick pillars and the large windows of its two entrance doors, which combine brick and white stone. It was also known as the Mercado del Oeste or the Mercado de la Verdura. In 1975, architect Daniel Carbonell Ruiz added a mezzanine level that increased the number of stalls, and in 2001 and 2004, conservation work was carried out on the structure. Next to the market, a section of the Moorish city wall and outer wall has been preserved, along with the only tower still standing in the city, which is incorporated into the Church of Verónicas.