Palazzo della Ragione

Palazzo della Ragione Review

An elegant 15th-century pink marble staircase leads up from the mercato vecchio (old market) courtyard to the magistrates' chambers in this 12th-century palace, built at the intersection of the main streets of the ancient Roman city. The renovated interior is now used for occasional exhibitions of art from the Galleria dell'Arte Moderna, which was recently moved to this location. You can get the highest view in town from atop the attached 270-foot-high, romanesque Torre dei Lamberti. About 50 years after a lightning strike in 1403 knocked its top off, it was rebuilt and extended to its current height.