Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici, Renaissance city palace in Piazza Grande, Arezzo, Italy
The Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici sits at the edge of Piazza Grande and blends Gothic and Renaissance styles, with a monumental staircase and ground-floor arcades that once housed shops. The interior contains artworks and furnishings spanning centuries, arranged across rooms that reflect its long use as a civic institution.
Building work started in 1375, but the palace took its present shape during the late 1500s when a succession of architects redesigned it. The result is the striking structure that frames Piazza Grande today.
The palace has been home to the Fraternita dei Laici, a civic brotherhood dedicated to helping those in need, and this social mission remains central to its identity. Walking through the rooms, you can sense how the community's values shaped the space and its role in the city over time.
The building sits right on Piazza Grande and is easy to locate with clear entrance points. Plan around two hours to walk through the rooms and explore the collections without rushing.
A bell tower crowns the roof, housing a working astronomical clock from the 1500s that is rarely noticed by visitors. This timekeeping mechanism is a subtle architectural feature that adds another layer of history to the structure.
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