VIII Medieval Market – La Nucía – 6, 7 & 8 July

This year will be the eighth year in succession that La Nucia holds its increasingly well-known Medieval Market. On 6, 7 and 8 July the old town centre will go back to its medieval roots; some 60 craftsmen and women have booked stands with Amata, the craft association organising the event. Amata has also invited music and street theatre groups as well as several craft demonstrators to liven up the market.

The square in front of the Town Hall and the streets behind will be filled with really interesting craft stands selling ceramics, leather bags, belts and shoes, glass, designer jewelry, carved and turned wood, carved stone, forged iron, soap and perfume, patchwork and a lot more. In the food section there will be stands selling sausages, cheese, roast almonds and peanuts, bread and pastry as well as a medieval tavern (roasting a whole pig on a spit) and atent with Arab food.

To complete the medieval setting, from time to time, troubadours, story tellers, people on stilts, buffoons and other typical characters of the era wander through the streets. Children and young people can have their face painted, take a ride on a small Ferris wheel or on a pony, take part in a workshop or play medieval table games.

Amata is a craft association which tries to ensure that the only people on the market are those who make all the material they sell – there’s nothing imported and nothing is made in small (or big!) factories. Amata and La Nucia Town Hall see eye to eye on this matter; there are far too many organisers setting up so-called medieval markets that are little more than pound shops in historic clothing. The craft tradition is tending to slowly disappear in Spain, which is why Amata has coined the term “artesanía de autor” to describe its unusual markets, roughly translated as “craft work made and sold by the craftsmen himself”.

The Market will be set up in the old town centre – just follow the signs after you’ve parked your car in the road where the rastro is usually held. The fun starts at six on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening (6, 7 and 8 July) and goes on till late at night. For more information phone 639 979 678 (English spoken) and if you want to look at photographs of other markets or the sort of craft work you will see, take a look at http://www.amata.es or http://www.amata.es/LaNucia11.html.