Palazzo dell'Arengo

Palazzo dell'Arengo is a medieval building on Piazza Cavour with pointed arches framing the ground floor loggia and multi-paned windows rising above. It now shares space with the adjacent Palazzo del Podestà as part of the Palazzi dell'Arte contemporary art museum.

Construction took place between 1204 and 1207, and the building initially served as a meeting hall for the city council in the late Middle Ages. Over time it was adapted for different purposes before becoming part of the city's art offerings in recent decades.

The palace served as a theater in the early 1700s and drew young artists who were influenced by its performances. This role as a cultural venue shaped the city's intellectual life at that time.

You can explore the building as part of the art exhibitions displayed in the combined museum spaces. Its location on the central Piazza Cavour makes it easy to find and visit alongside the neighboring palazzo in a single trip.

A stone called lapis magnum sits in the ground floor loggia and was once the setting for public rituals where debtors performed ceremonial acts to declare bankruptcy. This unusual space played a central role in the medieval justice system.