Palazzo del Comune, Medieval town hall in Cremona, Italy

Palazzo del Comune is Cremona's town hall, built in 1206 as a Lombard broletto. Its piazza facade has a portico with 13th-century fresco remains, pointed arches on square stone pillars, and round-arched blind arcades framing large rectangular windows. The complex surrounds two quadrangular courtyards; the main eastern one has ogival porticoes, 1506-08 frescoed vaults and lunettes, and 13th-century trifore on the first floor.

The building was constructed in 1206 and received its first expansion in 1245, followed by substantial renovations during the 16th century. These construction phases reflect the city's changing needs and increasing prosperity.

The Sala degli Alabardieri keeps 13th-century frescoes, among them a San Cristoforo shown wearing a crown. The Sala del Consiglio, or dei Quadri, holds large canvases from suppressed churches, including the Raccolta della Manna by Grazio Cossali (1597) and the Ultima Cena by Genovesino (1647). The Sala della Consulta has 18th-century rococo stuccoes and eight ceiling roundels of the Virtues of Good Government painted by Antonio Rizzi in 1928-29.

The palace occupies the block between Piazza del Comune, Piazza Stradivari and Via Lombardini, with the main front on the piazza and the rear Guardiola block facing Piazza della Pace. Enter from the piazza portico; the two courtyards and the council rooms lie beyond it. The building is the historic seat of the city council, so rooms may be closed during meetings.

The marble pulpit on the central pillar of the loggia was designed in 1507 by Lorenzo Trotti. The two bells in the civic tower had separate duties: the small one summoned the city council, the large one warned of fires or announced condemnations, and both rang in celebration on the feast of Sant'Omobono.