Piazza Dante (also known as Piazza delle Catene, ) is the main public square in

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy. The

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

is located in the city's historic centre, included within the perimeter of the 16th-century city walls. It is home to the city's main representative buildings, including the St. Lawrence Cathedral, the Palazzo Comunale (City Hall) and the

Palazzo Aldobrandeschi Palazzo Aldobrandeschi is the seat of the provincial government of Grosseto, Italy, and it is located in Piazza Dante, the main square of the city. History It was built between 1900 and 1903 by architect Lorenzo Porciatti. It is a Gothic Reviv ...

, seat of the

Province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gros ...

. The northern section of the square is called ''Piazza Duomo'', since it is overlooked by the cathedral's façade.

History

The main square of the city of Grosseto is documented as ''Platea Communis'' starting from 1222.

Buildings and monuments

Grosseto Cathedral

Palazzo Aldobrandeschi

Palazzo Comunale

The is located on the northern side of Piazza Duomo and houses the City Council and the Mayor of Grosseto. The city hall was designed in 1867 by engineer Giovanni Clive, and built in a Neo-Renaissance style between 1870 and 1873. Its construction required the demolition of the

16th-century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th centu ...

church of ''San Giovanni Decollato'' (St. John the Baptist) which stood here.

Palazzo Alben

Palazzo Alben is located on the western side of Piazza Duomo, opposite the cathedral. The palace was built between 1948 and 1950 by the enterprise ALBEN, on the site of the medieval , which was demolished in 1938 by the

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

city government in order to build the new headquarters of the National Institute for Social Security. It is home to the

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Banca Nazionale del Lavoro S.p.A. (BNL) is an Italian bank headquartered in Rome. It is Italy's sixth largest bank and has been a subsidiary of BNP Paribas since 2006. History Founded in 1913 as Istituto Nazionale di Credito per la Cooperazione, ...

''Canapone''

The statue of Leopold II of Tuscany ( it, monumento a Leopoldo II di Lorena), better known as ''Canapone'', is a

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed ...

monument located at the centre of the square. It was sculpted by artist , and positioned in 1846. It represents

Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II( it, Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Francesco Ferdinando Carlo, german: Leopold Johann Joseph Franz Ferdinand Karl, English: ''Leopold John Joseph Francis Ferdinand Charles''. (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870) was Grand Duke of Tusc ...

dressed as an ancient Roman, in the act of holding up with his left hand a woman, who bears a dead child, and with his right arm a smiling boy; the grand duke's right foot crushes the head of a snake, which is also devoured by a

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

. The

allegorical sculpture Allegorical sculpture are sculptures of personifications of abstract ideas as in allegory. Common in the western world, for example, are statues of Lady Justice representing justice, traditionally holding scales and a sword, and the statues of ...

was meant to celebrate the land reforms and reclamations perpetrated by the grand duke, who is depicted here as a Roman sage and saviour who comes to succour the

Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a coastal area of western central Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes much of south-western Tuscany and part of northern Lazio. It was formerly mostly marshland, often malarial, but ...

(the woman) who has suffered for generations (the dead child); the next generation (the smiling boy) will be grateful to the grand duke who defeated the

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

(the snake), also thanks to the strength and sacrifice of the people of Grosseto (the griffin).

''Colonna dei Bandi''

The ''Colonna dei Bandi'' () is an ancient Roman column located in the northern side of the square, on the right of the cathedral. Its presence in the ''piazza'' is attested to 1617, and confirmed in later records until 1832, and was used as the public spot to post municipal notices (''bandi''). The original column was removed in 1846 with the square's renovation and went lost. The current monument – a

2nd century AD The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest exp ...

column found in

Rusellae Rusellae was an important ancient town of Etruria (roughly modern Tuscany), which survived until the Middle Ages before being abandoned. The impressive archaeological remains lie near the modern ''frazione'' or village of Roselle () in the ''comun ...

in 1863 – was placed on the same site in 1966, during the celebration of the bicentenary of the establishment of the Province of Grosseto.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dante, Piazza Piazzas in Tuscany Buildings and structures in Grosseto Tourist attractions in Tuscany