Palazzo Gotico

The Palazzo Gotico is the medieval city hall of Piacenza, a 13th-century Gothic building in red and white marble and brick that occupies the north side of the Piazza dei Cavalli. The ground floor is an open arcade of pointed arches; the upper floor has large mullioned windows and a crenellated roofline. The building is one of the more elegant medieval civic palaces in northern Italy, particularly in the way it addresses the piazza — the arcade creating a covered walkway that integrates the building with the public space.

The palace now serves as the seat of the provincial council and is occasionally open for exhibitions. The interior has a large Gothic hall on the upper floor. From the piazza, the Palazzo Gotico and the two equestrian statues in front of it make for one of the most photographed views in Piacenza.

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The building's Italian name ("Palazzo Gotico" — Gothic Palace) was given in the 19th century by people who recognized its architectural style, but it was originally known as the Palazzo Comunale — the city hall. Construction began in 1281 at the height of Piacenza's prosperity as a free commune; the ground floor arcade with its pointed arches and the upper hall with its large Gothic windows are substantially intact from that period.

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