The Project
When the project was born
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Mercato d’Autore was born in 2015 to tell the story of and most importantly bring to light the beauty and the charm of the markets of Rome. This is the same beauty that hits us when we visit the famous markets of Barcelona, London and Madrid.
We pose a challenge, or better yet, a cultural revolution for the thousands of small businesses that operate in the markets of Rome, accompanying them and motivating them to start the process of transformation and evolution necessary to stay up-to-date.
What is a Mercato d’Autore? It’s a market that accepts the challenge of change.
The first structure to join the project was the Mercato Nomentano di Piazza Alessandria. In adherence with the Mercati d’Autore Value Statement, it underwent a restyling operation in 2016 — completely self-financed by the workers — that requalified the spaces and externally communicated a new identity focusing on the value of the market.
The foyer area, which was created inside the market, immediately became an important point of attraction both for the regular clients and those who didn’t usually frequent the market. In addition to this, there have been many requests by outside businesses and associations of the district to use the area to hold events.
In 2017, it was Mercato Casal de Pazzi’s turn. Once again, through the self-financing of the workers, the physical space of the market was transformed. Two new areas were created — areas equipped to host events and allow the clientele to stop and consume the products for sale on site.
Mercati d’Autore isn’t only a requalification of the spaces, but it’s a management model that distinguishes the markets that take part in it with their dynamism and their desire to interpret the spaces and the functions of the market in an innovative way. From this project, initiatives such as #dopomercato of the Mercato Trieste and #fuorimercato of the Mercato Talenti were born. Such initiatives open up the spaces of the markets to evening events able to show a never-before-seen side that takes advantage of a different use from the day-to-day.
In 2018, Mercati d’Autore is made up of a network that 34 markets and more than 1000 businesses take part in. Through the Bando della Regione Lazio, which is dedicated to networks between businesses, they can carry out promotion strategies concentrated on online communication, with the creation of a portal that allows them to reach wide audiences and go outside the borders of the district. This promotion takes tourists, visitors and fans on a trip to discover neighbourhood markets and at the same time provides a new service for the regular customers.
