Piazza Libertà, also known as Piazza della Libertà is the oldest square in

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

, in

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

region, Italy. The square sits in the open space below

Udine Castle The Castle of Udine (Italian: Castello di Udine) is a historical building in Udine, northern Italy, built upon a hill in the historical center of the city (138 meters above sea level). History The Castle hill was long supposed to be made of drif ...

. In the square stands the town hall (''Loggia del Lionello'') built in 1448–1457 in the Venetian-Gothic style opposite a clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio) resembling that of the

Piazza San Marco Piazza San Marco (; vec, Piasa San Marco), often known in English as St Mark's Square, is the principal public square of Venice, Italy, where it is generally known just as ''la Piazza'' ("the Square"). All other urban spaces in the city (exc ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. It was begun in 1448 on a project by

Nicolò Lionello Nicolò () is an Italian male given name. Another variation is Niccolò, most common in Tuscany. It may refer to: * Nicolò Albertini, statesman * Nicolò Amati, luthier * Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer * Nicolò Barattieri, Italian enginee ...

, a local goldsmith, and was rebuilt following a fire in 1876. The new design was projected by the architect

Andrea Scala Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

. Opposite the Loggia del Lionello is the Loggia di San Giovanni, a Renaissance structure designed by Bernardino da Morcote. Other noteworthy monuments in the square are the Fountain by

Giovanni Carrara Giovanni Carrara Jiménez ar-rah'-ra(born March 4, 1968) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 6' 2", 225 lb., Carrara batted and threw right-handed. He established himself as a valuable middle relief man in MLB, as w ...

, an architect from Bergamo (1542); the Columns bearing the Venetian Lion and the Statue of Justice (1614), the statues of Hercules and Cacus and the Statue of Peace (1819) which was donated to Udine by Emperor

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

to commemorate the peace

Treaty of Campoformido The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treat ...

. The square has been known by a number of names including Plàzze dal Vin, Plàzze dal Común, and Piazza Contarena.

Gallery

Piazza della LibertàUdine.jpg Udine-colonna del Leone marciano di piazza Libertà.jpg, The column bearing the Venetian Lion Udine, loggia di lionello 03.JPG, Loggia del Lionello Udine towerdetail.JPG, Clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio) 20180930 091840 stitch.jpg, Panorama view of Piazza Libertà from Loggia del Lionello

References

Udine Piazzas in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Loggias in Italy {{Italy-struct-stub