The Ver-o-Peso Market, Mercado Municipal Bolonha de Peixe, Mercado de Ferro, or Ver-o-Peso is a

street market A street market or open-air market, with alternative names such as: market square and sometimes charity market, in cases where the sale is made for charity reasons, is a market that is set up on certain days of the week, generally on the street i ...

and

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

, and small

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

area inaugurated in 1901 (replacing the "Casa de Haver-o-Peso", 1625-1899) that is part of the Ver-o-Peso Complex (1625). It is located in the city of

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

(

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

) in the neighborhood of Campina, on the shores of

Guajará Bay Guajará Bay ( Portuguese: ''Baía do Guajará'') is formed by the confluence of the mouths of the Guamá and Acará rivers, which border the municipalities of Barcarena and Belém, the capital of Pará. Its waters flow into Marajó Bay and end ...

, next to the

Docks The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engli ...

Station. It is considered one of the oldest public markets in the country and was elected one of the wonders of the state of Pará and one of the 7 Wonders of Brazil. A touristic, cultural, and economic point of the city of Belém, formed by the Iron Market, Pescador Square, the Ship Dock (1803), and the Fish Market, the Pedra do Peixe, and the street market (considered the largest in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

) that supplies the city with various goods: clothing,

medicinal herbs Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ...

, and food (such as fish and meat) coming from the surrounding islands of the capital and the inland municipalities, supplied by the river. The market is famous for one of the symbols of northern Brazilian

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

, the "fried fish with açaí".

Name

The marked is called "Ver-o-Peso" following a colonial era tradition, since the tax collector's main post was located there, which was called "Casa do Haver-o-peso" ("Have-the-Weight House")."''Peso''" means "weight" or "to weight" in Portuguese It was in the "Haver-o-peso house" that the taxes over goods brought from the Amazon forests, rivers and countryside should be paid to the Portuguese crown, but only after their weight was measured, hence the name, which later suffered a contraction.

History

With a strategic position at the mouth of the Amazon River, Belém was the largest trading post of the region for products extracted from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

region (known as "''drogas do sertão''", "drugs of the

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the " hinterland" or " backcountry" of Brazil. The word refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil or the hinterlands of the country in general (similar to the specific ...

" in English) destined for local and international markets, for meat with a low price from the herds on the

Marajó Island Marajó () is a large coastal island in the state of Pará, Brazil. It is the main and largest of the islands in the Marajó Archipelago. Marajó Island is separated from the mainland by Marajó Bay, Pará River, smaller rivers (especially Mac ...

, and the arrival point of

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

products. In 1625, in the area of the Igarapé do Piri (the current Mercado Ver-o-Peso), the Portuguese installed the commercial inspection post Casa de Haver o Peso, to control the weight and collect taxes on goods brought to the headquarters of the Captaincy of Grão-Pará (State of

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

), granted by a royal provision to the Chamber of Belém. In 1803, during the government of Marcos de Noronha e Brito,

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Arches, the igarapé do Piri was filled in to meet the urban advances of Belém. The mouth was transformed into the Ver-o-Peso Dock and the Pedra do Peixe, made of English

lioz Lioz (), also known as Royal Stone (''pedra real''), is a type of limestone, originating in Portugal, from the Lisbon region. It is famed for its use as an Dimension stone, ornamental stone, resulting in its proliferation in palaces, cathedra ...

, and the activities of the tax office were maintained there. Although in 1839 the city was shaken by the popular revolt of

Cabanagem The Cabanagem (; 1835–1840) was a popular revolution and pro-separatist movement that occurred in the then province of Grão-Pará, Empire of Brazil. Among the causes for this revolt were the extreme poverty of the Paraense people, oppressio ...

(1835-1840), the Casa de Haver o Peso functioned until the middle of 1839, when in October, President Bernardo de Souza Franco extinguished the tax office and the House was leased for the sale of fresh fish, until 1847, when the lease ended and the Casa de Haver o Peso was demolished. In 1855, during the Rubber Cycle (1879 - 1912), commercial importance increased, mainly for the international scenario. Thus, new urban changes occurred: the margin of Guajará Bay was filled in, and important buildings were made following the European architectural pattern of

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

, influenced by

art nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, among them: the

Meat Market A meat market is, traditionally, a marketplace where meat is sold, often by a butcher. It is a specialized wet market. The term is sometimes used to refer to a meat retail store or butcher's shop, in particular in North America. During the mid ...

(1867), Antônio Lemos Palace (1873), and

Theatro da Paz Theatro da Paz (Peace Theater) is a Theater (structure), theater located in the Praça da República (Republic Square) on the city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará, in Brazil. It was built following Neoclassicism, neoclassical architec ...

(1878). In 1897, the company La Rocque Pinto & Cia won the

public tender Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP ...

for the construction of the Municipal Fish Market, or Mercado de Ferro, as the Ver-o-Peso market was initially known, authorized by municipal law no. 173. In 1899, after the demolition of the "Casa de Haver-o-Peso" (1625) the building of the Iron Market began, with the project of Henrique La Rocque, near the Municipal Meat Market, or Mercado Bologna. It was inaugurated in 1901, in the form of a

dodecagon In geometry, a dodecagon, or 12-gon, is any twelve-sided polygon. Regular dodecagon A regular polygon, regular dodecagon is a figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of the same size. It has twelve lines of reflective symmetry ...

measuring 1,197 m² (12,884 sq. feet), with a metallic structure in

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

Vieille-Montagne Vieille Montagne () was a zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine), a town in Belgium between Liège and Aachen. The mine's name is French for "old mountain" or "old mine", and this is also reflected in its German name, (earlier, ). The mine was once a ...

(brought prefabricated from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and transported by river to

). The project followed the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

aesthetic trend of art nouveau of the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

. In this period the expansion of the Meat Market also occurred. The complex has undergone two major renovations. The first one was in 1985, during the administration of

Almir Gabriel Almir José de Oliveira Gabriel COMM (Belém, August 18, 1932 - Belém, February 19, 2013) was a Brazilian doctor and politician affiliated to the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB). He was governor of Pará for two terms, senator and mayor of the capi ...

, with improvements to the Iron Market, Solar da Beira (being transformed into a restaurant and cultural space), the Pescador Square, and, the free market. The construction of the Velames Square and the setting up of standardized stalls also took place. In 1998 and 2002, the second renovation occurred in stages, under the municipal administration of Edmilson Rodrigues, with general intervention in the fair, contemplating landscape aspects of the place and qualifying the market vendors.

Listed property

The iron market and the free market are part of the architectural and landscape complex of Ver-o-Peso, listed by

IPHAN The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

in 1977, which comprises an area of 35 thousand square meters, with a series of historical buildings, including the Meat Market, the Pescador Square, the Relógio Square, the Dock, the Açaí Fair, the Castle Hill, and the Solar da Beira.

Gallery

Notes

References