Mercato del Capo

The story

The Capo runs through the quarter of the same name, the old Seralcadio, between Via Porta Carini, Via Beati Paoli and Via Sant’Agostino, a few steps from the Teatro Massimo. Like Ballarò it has Arab origins and has kept the shape of a souk: narrow streets under awnings, stalls following one another without a break.

Among the stalls rise the church of the Immacolata Concezione, a Baroque interior entirely lined with inlaid coloured marble, and the church of Sant’Agostino with its Gothic portal.

At the end of the market, Porta Carini is one of the city’s historic gates, rebuilt in the 18th century.

Why it is worth it

It is the most compact of the markets: you move down a corridor of awnings with fish on one side and olives on the other, and vendors who talk to you as if they knew you. When you come to the doorway of the Immacolata Concezione, go in: a few metres from the din, you find yourself in a box of coloured marble you were not expecting.