Asiyah Noemi Koso
Google
On the beautiful Piazza Maggiore next to Basilica di San Petronio and the beautiful Palazzo d'Accursio (or Palazzo Comunale) is the charming Palazzo del Podestà, makes a wonderful atmosphere throughout the square. The Palazzo del Podestà was erected in 1200 as a public building and a seat of power, the seat of the local podestà, the various functionaries of the commune. It is an architecturally impressive complex which includes two corridors that cross under the Voltone del Podestà. Overhead rises the Torre dell'Arengo with its bell that was used to summon the population in extraordinary moments. In 1453 Aristotile Fioravanti replaced the bell and reconstructed the original Gothic façade in the Renaissance style by order of Giovanni II Bentivoglio. Voltone del Podestà is decorated with terracotta statues set in 1500 with the figures of the city's protective saints: San Petronio, San Procolo, San Domenico, and San Francesco. The interesting thing is that under the Voltone del Podestà there is an extraordinary acoustic effect where you can stand under the opposite corners of the arch and hear each other clearly at a whisper. In the 16th-18th centuries the Palazzo was used as theatre. The Palazzo del Podestà proved too small to accommodate the large numbers of townspeople who turned out to participate in the city governance. As a result, a mere 40 years after its construction, the Palazzo Re Enzo was built alongside it. The Palazzo del Podestà is a long building, with a large hall on the upper floor. In the 20th century it was frescoed by Adolfo de Carolis. The lower floor is a double open arcade, through which today pass two lanes of shops.
