ABSTRACT

Enhancing the spatial sequence through the city are Bologna’s ubiquitous arcades that offer protection from the elements and street activity. These arcades culminate at the Piazza Maggiore, the main public square in front of Bologna’s cathedral that was not only a public gathering space but also a political statement. Like other Italian squares and cities, Bologna’s urban plan and its piazzas did more than serve as commercial or social frameworks, but were interwoven into the citizens’ political and social status (Tuttle 1994: 39; Gutkind 1969: 261-262). A piazza’s location and dimension as well as the political institutions that surrounded it and the groups or individuals that sponsored and possessed it were important facets in the city’s culture.

Originally a medieval market place, Piazza Maggiore was surrounded by palazzos of significant Bolognese citizens and was part of a prolonged redevelopment of Bologna’s center between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was also a part of a Bolognese political demonstration to create a cathedral and urban space in tribute to the city’s patron saint, Saint Petronio. As historian Richard Tuttle (1994: 42) points out, dedication to the city’s patron saint “was a profession of faith in the history, prestige and autonomy of the free communal state.” San Petronio, with the Palazzo dei Notai, dominates the square’s south side. To the north is the Renaissance arcaded Palazzo del Podesta that creates an orderly, permeable edge to the space.