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Municipality of Lucca

ADDRESS: Piazza del Carmine

TEL: 0583 4422

The Mercato del Carmine (Carmine Market), a veritable "food market" in the heart of the city, has a long and particular history.

Place of local history, tradition and gastronomic culture, the Carmine Market belongs to the city's history. The indoor structure overlooks the square, Mordini street and part of Sant'Andrea street, in the eastern part of the city, a very lively and typical city neighborhood.

The complex of today's Carmine Market was built on the structure of the convent of the Carmelitani Scalzi (The Barefoot Carmelites), who ruled it until the early 1900s. Its origins date back to around the year 1000; the main phases of expansion and modification of the convent structure date back to 1342 , when the Carmelites received the church of S. Pier Cigoli from Bishop William II, and to 1460, when public subsidies attested to the renewed commitment of the religious congregation to expand the convent.

The Carmine area was connected to Piazza Anfiteatro where the Mercato delle Vettovaglie (the Market for Provisions - from the Latin “victualia”, i.e. the products necessary for the subsistence of a community of people) was held: it was the famous oval square to mark the fate itself of the convent.

After the suppression of the religious orders in 1866, the convent seemed destined to house various public functions, such as the Pretura (Magistrate's Court), the registration office of conscripts and a covered grain market; nevertheless, in 1932, it was decided to move the market to a covered structure, in the Carmine complex, redesigned to house the new city market, as a result of sanitation reasons and of the need for a place sheltered from winds, rain and the heat of the sun.

In place of the large and beautiful aisles of the church and in the convent cloister, 31 stores, 200 sales stalls, 30 fish stalls and 6 warehouses at the entrance found their place. The church bell tower became a tower with a clock, which is still so today, and the cloister covered with a light structure that allowed year-round use by protecting the market activity from the weather.

The work was completed only in 1936. In 1952 the property came back to the Municipality and the market thrived until 1974, when the weekly market, which was held in the adjacent streets and in Carmine Square was moved to the larger spaces of Bacchettoni Street and then to Don Baroni Square, along Borghi Street, the historic site of the traditional seasonal markets.

In addition to stores selling fruits and vegetables, sweets and other foodstuffs, it is possible today to find in the "Carmine" area temporary craft and art exhibitions, concerts and cultural activities. A place much beloved to the people of Lucca and an obligatory stop to discover the soul of the city.