Perhaps some people in the city do not know that the current Livramento Market - which the city is legitimately proud of - is already the second with the same name, although built in the same place.
The first Livramento Market. named for its position on the river stream of the same name, was inaugurated on 31-07-1876 (141 years ago) coinciding with the Feira de S. Tiago, by the mayor of Setúbal, Dr. António Rodrigues Manitto, of whom I shall still speak here.
Half a century later, that old building, 80 meters long, 52 meters wide, with 44 benches, of which 24 stone for fish and 20 of wood for vegetables, became old-fashioned and unable to satisfy the needs of the population that did not stop growing, reason why it was demolished in 1927.
Until the new market was completed, the sale was made in barracks built at Praça Almirante Reis (Largo dos Combatentes).
On 10-07-1930 the current Livramento Market was reborn, now in Art Déco (abbreviation for Art et Décoration), an architectural style very popular in the 1920s and 1930s, with its three hangars oriented from North to South, supported on columns of cast iron.
In the interior, several tile panels, covering a total of about 6,000 pieces, lining the walls, namely the South side, with scenes alluding to the economic activities of the district.
At the beginning of October 2010, the building closed for rehabilitation works, which were awarded to a construction company for the value of 3.2 million euros.
However, in the afternoon of 07-02-2012, the total collapse of the South wall resulted in the death of 5 workers.
With this collapse, the octagonal panels of tiles disappeared.
As evidenced by the judgment of Relação de Évora, dated October 23, 2014, this very serious accident was entirely the responsibility of the contractor, since (I transcribe): "The excavation along the South wall (wall that is 52 meters long and 8 meters high and still supporting a tile panel along the way) was carried out without prior study, with possible drilling of wells to confirm the quota of the foundation and the adoption of support measures, in order to guarantee the safety of workers and the public, and without taking any preventive measures, such as grounding or shoring of the wall. "
The League of Friends of Setúbal and Azeitão (LASA) was one of the first private organizations to be fight for the restoration of tile panels, an objective that came to be achieved with the patronage sponsorship of the Buehler-Brockhause Foundation.
Today, more beautiful and functional than ever, the Livramento Market is rightly considered one of the most famous fish markets in the world.

Manuel Poirier Braz (29-11-2017)

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