A market from many centuries ago
During the Middle Ages the market it was a place for shopping, but also for meetings and socializing, as people from all social strata met there.
Rich and poor, men and women, young and old, all looking for bargains, made medieval markets crowded and lively places full of humanity and joie de vivre.
At the market they sold and bought everything, from food to clothes, from animals to fabrics, from skins to household utensils, but the shops they were very different from today's shops:in principle they consisted of very small and precarious structures in wood and fabric placed side by side along the city streets.
The masonry shops they were very few and almost always located on the ground floor of private homes; instead of the doors there were simple curtains, while large wooden doors were used instead of display cases which were raised during the day at the time of opening and then lowered again at closing.
We can learn a lot about the medieval markets and shops also thanks to the numerous frescoes of the time that has come down to us, a precious and unparalleled source of information and historical information on the customs and traditions of the past.