The Palazzo dei Priori or comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of a public palace from the communal era (11th century). It is located in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It extends along Corso Vannucci up to Via Boncambi. It still houses part of the municipality, and, on the third floor, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. It takes its name from the Priori, the highest political authority governing the city in the medieval era.
History and architecture It was built in Gothic style between 1293 and 1443, in several phases. The irregularity of the facade is explained by the long construction, due to constant additions and the incorporation of earlier buildings. The oldest part is the one that houses the Sala dei Notari, that is, the corner part between Piazza IV Novembre and Corso Vannucci. It displays three trifora windows with a trefoil portal on the side facing the square and ten triforas and four-light windows facing the Corso. It was the first building site, between 1293 and 1297, by the architects Jacopo di Servadio and Giovannello di Benvenuto, both from Perugia. In the early 1300s, the entire Palazzo Capitano del Popolo, formerly the tower house of Madonna Dialdiana, was incorporated into the west side, that is, the hidden side of the palace. The subsequent expansion was managed, between 1317 and 1326, by the architect Ambrogio Maitani from Siena who, with his brother Lorenzo, was hired to refurbish the Montepacciano aqueduct, which carried the water to the fountain in the square. During this same period, lodgings were built for the new Magistracy of Priori (founded in 1303, consisting of ten representatives of each one of the main guilds of the arts, among the 44 that existed; they held office for only two months, in which they were housed in the palace). Their living quarters consisted of the dormitories and council rooms on the first floor, the kitchen and the dining hall on the second floor and the main hall on the third. Those locations were used starting in 1325, the same period in which the Portale Maggiore was built, which became the palace's main entrance. Between 1326 and 1331 the comune purchased from Benvenuto di Cola dei Servitori a tower house, which was connected to the palace by an overpass, above the present-day Via dei Priori. On the old tower was built a bell tower. In 1331, the ancient Priori Chapel (Cappella dei Priori) was built here, consecrated to Saint Louis of Toulouse, brother of Robert of Anjou, belonging to the House of Anjou allied with the comune; for this reason, the carved lily emblem appears on the lunette of the portal and the side of the palace, along Via dei Priori at the intersection with Via della Gabbia. In 1335, the facade was further extended, breaking the initial symmetry with the portico and San Severo hall on the ground floor and of the other halls on the upper floors. In the expansion, the church of San Severo di Piazza, of which only one wall remains inside, was incorporated into the palace (the title of the Church of San Severo was added to the nearby church of Sant'Agata, in Via dei Priori, which still retains the dual appellation). Between 1429 and 1443 the palace was again enlarged southward, incorporating the church of San Giovanni al foro o di piazza, now the chapel of San Giovanni, part of Collegio del Cambio, i.e., the guild of the money changers, which took over the palace from 1452. For stylistic homogeneity the Gothic style has been retained, even though it was no longer used in the 15th century. From 1534 the palace housed the apostolic legate (an emissary of the Pope) and there were changes made to the most recent wing of the palace. The architect Galeazzo Alessi designed the internal and external arcade in the 1580s. Later the architect and sculptor Vincenzo Danti completed the work by enlarging the interior staircase. In the following years of papal rule, the palace underwent a period of decay and was greatly altered both inside and out (the crenellation disappeared, new windows were opened and the triforas disappeared). It was restored to its old form and restored after 1860.
Description
External facades The facade facing the square has a fan-shaped stairway built in 1902 to replace the two-flight staircase dating from the 17th century. The original one is presumed to have been fan-shaped. The trefoil Gothic portal is flanked by two triforas, the same as the five above, which have a pinnacle on top. The two on the right were added during the subsequent extension. On the ground floor, there are three asymmetrical arches; between the first two is a pulpit used for the reading of the edicts. Two large corbels above the Gothic portal support copies of bronze statues of the griffin, symbol of the city, and the Guelph lion; the originals (now in the entrance hall of the palace) were made in 1274, probably for a vanished fountain by Arnolfo di Cambio. The chains hanging from the statue and the iron bar are those taken from the gates of Torrita di Siena by Perugian soldiers during the Battle of Torrita in 1358. The facade toward the Corso, with a bulging progression, allows a glimpse of the various extensions that have taken place over time. The walls on the first floor are decorated, as well as the facade on the square, by triforas and two examples of quatrefoil windows, while on the upper floor are 19 triforas with a pinnacle combining the colour of the white and pink stone. The Guelph cornice and crenellations crown the end of both sides. On the ground floor, shops replace the fondachi (warehouses) and artisan workshops. To the right of the portal is still the entrance of Collegio della Mercanzia, occupying part of the palace from 1390, while the Collegio del Cambio took over the southern extension, where it has been since 1452.
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