The Palazzo del Podesta, also known as ''Palazzo del Governatore'', is a 13th-century civic palace located in Piazza del Plebiscito in central
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...
, region of
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is attached and mainly accessible through the arch over Via Filippo Ascenzi connecting it to the larger ''Palazzo della Commune'' or ''Comunale''.
This palace has a tall stone bell-tower (''Torre del Orologio'' formerly ''Torre dei Monaldeschi'') rising behind it; the tower at about its midpoint has a clock, first added in the 15th-century. The largest bell in the tower derives from the church of
Santa Maria della Verita. Diagonally across the piazza is the church of Sant'Angelo in Spatha, which has a marble replica of the Ancient Roman ''
Sarcophagus of Bella Galiana'' on the facade.
History
This building presently houses the main municipal offices, while the Podesta is mainly part of the civic museums. It was originally built as the ''Palazzo of the Capitano del Popolo'' in 1264. The construction of this and the Palazzo dei Priori took place after the
victory by Viterbo over the
Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II in 1243. In 1700, a large balcony was added to the piano nobile. The facade was refurbished over the centuries and now display classical window and portal treatments. The 44 meter tall clock tower was rebuilt in 1487 after the prior structure was razed. The clock dial was painted in 1816 by Domenico Costa.
On the south corner of the piazza facade are a series of heraldic shields and a column with a lion and palm tree, symbols of Viterbo. Across the Piazza is the baroque ''Palazzo della Prefettura'' which also has a lion atop a column on the southern corner of the facade. This medieval lion sculpture was once in the Palazzo del Priori on the main stairs.
On the piano nobile there are two large ceramic panels (donated by masters of Deruta) that depict the long conclave (1269) for the election of Pope
Gregory X
Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at th ...
. It shows the papal palace roofless and includes 5 popes that have been elected in Viterbo.
Viterbo Nei Suoi Monumenti
by Andrea Scriattoli (1920), pages 90-93. the groundfloor of the palace has shops and the Cafe Centrale.
References
{{coord, 42.41718, 12.10507, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:IT, display=title
Houses completed in the 13th century
Podestà
(), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...