Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Festival in the Piazza
The prestigious buildings of the main
piazza often form an appropriate back-
drop to costumed tournaments involving
jousting, archery and horsemanship,
recalling the medieval arts of war.
Fishtail battlements
Loggia
Many loggias, built to
provide shelter from the
sun or rain, now harbour
colourful street markets.
The Palazzo del
Comune
(town hall)
often houses the Museo
Civico (town museum)
and the Pinacoteca
(art gallery).
Wide central nave, with
narrower side aisles
The Duomo
(from
Latin
Domus Dei
or
House of God) is
the cathedral, the
focal point of the
piazza. A smaller
parish church is
called a
pieve
.
Loggia or
colonnade
The campanile
rose
high so that the town
bells could be heard
far and wide. The
bells were rung to
announce public meet-
ings or mass, to sound
the curfew, or, when
rung furiously
(a
stormo)
, to warn
of impending danger.
Side Chapel
Wealthy patrons paid for
ornate tombs, paintings
and frescoes in their
own private chapels to
commemorate their dead.
