BROLETTO, Broletto
Language: English / USA
Hi, I am Rick, your personal guide, and together with MyWoWo I’d like to welcome you to one of the wonders of the world: the Broletto.
The Broletto is one of the oldest buildings in the city, nestled between the magnificent façade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta on the right, and the Torre Civica on the left.
You should know that the term 'broletto', in medieval times, was used in Lombardy to refer to the place where citizens' assemblies were held and, later, to the town hall. In fact, this building was used for a very long time as the seat of the city's main institutions. Today it is used as an exhibition and conference space.
Its first construction, commissioned by podestà Bernardo da Codazzo, was completed in 1215 in medieval style, but major changes were made in the following centuries, as can be deduced from the Gothic three-mullioned windows, arches and the balcony on the first floor.
Other changes, however, are not visible, they can only be recounted. For example, in 1452, in order to enlarge the cathedral, part of the Broletto was demolished, and around 1580, the same fate befell the façade and a large portion of the Church of San Giacomo to the left of the Civic Tower.
Amid fires, reconstructions, alterations and demolitions, the elegant building you are now admiring was only brought to its present state in the late 19th century with a major restoration.
As you can see, at the base of the building is a large portico with four arches, supported by pillars. Above it are three large three-mullioned windows and a balcony on the Piazza Duomo side.
One of the most elegant aspects of the façade is the alternating bands of white, gray and red stone, in stark contrast to the simpler, bare lines of the Torre Civica tower next to it, in exposed stone, softened only by a small, mullioned window and the clock. Of the Torre Civica only the part below the single lancet window is original, the upper part was rebuilt in the early 20th century because it was unsafe.
I bid you farewell you with an interesting fact: In the 18th century, having lost its institutional function, the Broletto was completely turned into a theatre with as many as 55 boxes, and was used until the Teatro Sociale theatre was built.
