Raiul culinar- La Bouqueria

"The Boqueria Market, as it is known today, has been through many phases of life. Where this market comes from is uncertain, what we are sure of is that it was born as a travelling market, placed in the Ramblas of Barcelona. La Rambla acquired growing importance as a pedestrian lane, and the market was set in the best place to attract the large numbers of passers-by and local inhabitants.

Its location was threatened many times. In Catalonia, towns and cities have been founded around markets and the same rings true for La Boqueria. It originated as an open-air market, in front of one of the gates of the old city wall (Pla de la Boqueria) where fruit and vegetable traders from local towns and farms near by would sell their products. The spaces inside the city at that time were too small to establish a big market of the current Boqueria kind and it was necessary to set them outside the walls.

Coinciding with the dawn of the 21st century, the market has been reborn in commercial terms, and is now an international name of reference. This is shown by the great number of prizes it has won, which include the prize for the best market in the world, awarded by the World Markets Congress held in 2005 in Washington DC.

At the present time, the market is a member of Emporion, the European Association of Markets offering Excellence in Foods, and has promoted the European Project MedEmporion for the study and implementation of projects within the Mediterranean markets scope. The members of this project are the Barcelona Municipal Markets Institute, representing Barcelona City Council, the cities of Turin, Marseilles and Genoa and the Conservatory of Piamonte. "
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