Address: Piazza Libertà, Piazza del Popolo
Additional notes: The two piazzas are the site for many events: celebrations, games, musical and occasional events that coincide with various festivities. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning the market is held here.
Itinary details: Itinerary details: These two piazzas are the true heart of the city; one is the administrative power headquarters. Both have ancient origins, mainly Roman, but they were constituted in the Middle Ages and have taken on their current face after on along series of subsequent transformations, the most important being renaissance and then neo-classical. As a detailed itinerary we suggest, together with the obvious itinerary under the outside loggias, a visit to the Palazzo del Comune (the town hall, called Palazzo Manfredi, in Piazza del Popolo), to at least see first the large hall with the original wooden caisson ceiling of the 1500’s that acts as outer area to the municipality offices (“Salone delle Bandiere”, the flag room). On particular occasions (exhibitions, summer events), or by the request of the Municipality, from here it is possible to reach the upper loggias that still maintain part of their 1400’s authenticity, such as the double mullion window attributed to stone cutters from Fiesole called by Carlo Manfredi II. Again on request, it is possible to view the representation rooms, dating back mainly to the transformations of the 1700’s carried out by the Papal Government.In the adjacent Piazza Liberta, it is possible to freelyvisit the 1600’s Portico degli Orefici in front of the Cathedral. Next to it there is a beautiful monumental baroque fountain in Istria stone and bronze, built on the design of Fra Domenico Paganelli. Of the same author-architect is the above Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower) of the first half of the 1600’s and destroyed by the bombing of December 1944 (the current building is a faithful reconstruction with ancient parts saved from the collapse, such as the beautiful wrought iron railings up high and the1600’s statute of the Virgin). Back to Piazza del Popolo, where the visit is completed on the left side, dominated by the large Palazzo del Podesta, originating in the 1200’s but retouched many times, especially with the restoration works of the XX century giving it its improbable merlons. Authentic, however, are the Romanic capitals in the underlying entrance (once called “dei beccai” – of the butchers’) that leads into Piazza Martiri della Libertà.
