Former Fish Market

The Former Fish Market was built in 1874 on Trapani's northern waterfront during a period of redevelopment along the Mura di Tramontana. Designed by the Venetian architect Giambattista Talotti, it provided a purpose-built space for fish sales within a busy harbour district lined with quays, salt warehouses and fishermen's houses. The market remained the city's principal centre for the fish trade until port activity gradually shifted to the modern Port of Trapani on the southern side of the peninsula during the 20th century. Following its closure as a commercial market, the pavilion and surrounding square were adapted for cultural and civic events.

The market takes the form of a semi-elliptical pavilion projecting towards the sea. Its curved masonry walls enclose a covered portico supported by a continuous sequence of arches that opens onto the square. The square extends inland towards Via Torrearsa, while the seaward side connects with the waterfront promenade, providing access to both the Mura di Tramontana and the shoreline along Lungomare Dante Alighieri.

At the centre of the square stands a fountain crowned by a cast-iron statue of Venus Anadyomene, a 19th-century reproduction of the classical figure of Venus emerging from the sea. Long regarded as one of Trapani's local landmarks, the fountain and statue became the focus of restoration works initiated by the municipality in 2026 as part of the wider redevelopment of the former fish market square.