Palazzo della Ragione (Mantua)

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Mantua - Palazzo della Ragione

The building in the northern Italian city of Mantua , known as Palazzo della Ragione (German for 'court palace '), sometimes just called Broletto , was formerly used as a town hall, court square and market hall - comparable to an ancient Roman basilica . The building is located in the old center of the city on the south-east side of the Piazza delle Erbe .

Building history

The Palazzo della Ragione was built at the instigation of the then mayor ( podestà ) Guido da Correggio in the years 1242-1250. Its two-aisled ground floor, open on all sides, served as a market hall and courtroom for public trials; on the upper floor - formerly accessible via an external staircase - there is an elongated council hall that was used for council meetings, receptions and for representation purposes. In the 15th century, on the one hand, the ground floor was enlarged by a blind portico ; on the other hand, a tower with an astronomical clock ( Torre dell'Orologio ) was added in the south-west corner of the building , and the upper floor has also been accessible via the internal staircase since then. Sometime around 1700 the outer walls of the ground floor were bricked up - the resulting rooms were converted into restaurants, pubs or cafes; however, the portico in front was retained. Exhibitions are sometimes held in the former council chamber.

and display information about the image
Mantua - Piazza delle Erbe with the Palazzo della Ragione and the Rotonda di San Lorenzo

architecture

The building rests on three rows of masonry pillars , which formerly formed a hall open on all sides on the ground floor. The upper floor, which is entirely made of brick, is illuminated from both sides through three-part windows, which are covered by unadorned round arches. The building ends at the top with a wreath of dovetail battlements . At the level of the council hall there is a balcony in the clock tower built around 1475 , from which city decrees and other notices were proclaimed; sometimes high-ranking people showed up here to the urban people of Mantua. The clock tower has a house-like top with an alarm bell - perhaps the small building served as a shelter for the night watchman .

See also

Web links

Commons : Palazzo della Ragione  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 45 ° 9 ′ 29.9 ″  N , 10 ° 47 ′ 42.3 ″  E