Modernização do recife imperial: a construção do mercado público de São José (1875-1880)

Abstract

Inaugurated at 11 am, on September 7, 1875, the São José market, which was placed between Rua de Pedro Affonso and the courtyard in front of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha, as stated in the documentation, was received with many celebrations. , as it was considered the newest and most modern building in the city of Recife. With its opening, people flocked to the city center in a festive mood to observe it. The transformations that resulted in the construction of the new market began at the end of the 18th century, when Capuchin friars from the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Penha de França asked the then governor, D. Tomás José de Mello, to change the location of the meat market and fish, formerly located in Praça do Polé, where Praça da Independência is currently located, to the centrality where fishing took place, in the neighborhood of São José, soon becoming known as Largo da Ribeira do Peixe. The purpose of this work is to understand how and why it was necessary to create a public establishment, where the main goal was to establish a behavioral pattern mirrored in the transformations that took place in Europe. The creation of the São José Market was involved in a project to transform Recife into a modern and civilized city. Its inauguration in 1875 aimed to replace the old Mercado da Ribeira, a place where, during part of the 19th century, it was occupied by popular people who did popular trade and supply in the city. Analyzing the 19th century, it is possible to observe the building of the public market, as a project resulting from a discourse on modernity and civility, with the purpose of bringing an innovative undertaking, but which was involved in a medical-hygienist project with the intention of regulating a space destined both for food purchases and for the circulation of people.