Piazza Maggiore, the Main Square of this Historic City

Piazza Maggiore was the center of the political and administrative life of the Monregalese, and gave its name to this quarter – the old town with the most magnificent and oldest buildings.

The square has a strange shape. It is on two levels, connected by a very wide staircase. In this way, the steep, natural slope of the ground is softened. Some of the most beautiful and important buildings surround this square: the Palazzo dei Bressani with battlements on its roof, the Governor’s Palazzo, the old town hall called Palazzo di Città, the Palazzo Fauzone di Germagnano (today the location of the Ceramics Museum), the old Jesuit college, which was the seat of the court for many years, and the Church of San Francesco Saverio, also known as the “Mission Church”.

The History

The first settlements of people who originally came from Vico, Vasco and Carassone were concentrated around the historic city center. Since then, Piazza Maggiore has been the religious, administrative and commercial center. The arcades were so crowded and chaotic that the Statutes of the City (1415) decreed that “the arcades of the square must always be kept free, so that two people could comfortably walk next to each other in both directions”. Respected and prominent residents lived here “in numerous splendid apartments over magnificent arcades”.

______________

Piazza Maggiore a Mondovì, how to reach it