Located in the lower and eastern side of the la Ribera neighborhood, it is the largest covered square in all of Europe and marked the start of Modernisme in Catalan architecture.

A heavily gentrified area considered to be south of Carrer de la Princesa, it is full of restaurants, bars, and some small shops with many expatriates both living and socializing there.

[3] Currently, the market covers these archaeological ruins which were part of the la Ribera district that was demolished in the early eighteenth century after the defeat of Catalonia in the War of Succession in 1714.

This portion of la Ribera was forcibly demolished to make way for the construction of the Ciutadella military structure as ordered by the new Spanish king, Philip V.[2] The plan that finally came to fruition in 2013 was to expose the subterranean ruins for visitors while preserving space around the exterior of them for mixed use, cultural center, in addition to having a museum about the War of Succession onsite.

The transformation of the old market into a museum space was led by the study of Varis Arquitectes and executed by the UTE between Sapic, Croquis and Sono Audiovisual Technology.