Palazzo della Ragione, Gothic palace in Città Alta, Bergamo, Italy

Palazzo della Ragione is a Gothic building in the upper part of Bergamo featuring a grand hall supported by slender columns and topped with an ornate wooden ceiling. The interior displays intricate carved details and geometric designs typical of medieval craftsmanship throughout its main spaces.

Built in the 12th century, the structure served as city hall and court, reflecting Bergamo's desire for self-rule during the medieval period. It became the seat of civic administration and justice as the city exercised its independence.

The name "della Ragione" comes from the palace's use under Venetian rule, when it housed the city court. In the upper hall, now a museum, are 19th-century frescoes removed from the walls of wealthy citizens' palaces, including a "Seven Athenian Sages" attributed to Donato Bramante. A marble statue of the poet Torquato Tasso, carved in 1681, stands before the left arch.

The palace links Piazza Vecchia and Piazza del Duomo through an open loggia on the ground floor, so it can be crossed on foot between the two squares. The upper hall, the Sala delle Capriate, is reached by a covered staircase from Piazza Vecchia. In the loggia, look down at the white marble meridian line set into the paving in 1728.

The open loggia floor holds a white marble "solar meridian", a gnomon laid in 1728. The marble relief of the Venetian lion on the facade is a 1955 replica; French troops destroyed the original in 1509. A marble statue of the poet Torquato Tasso, dated 1681, stands before the left arch.