The Municipal Palace has been the seat of the city’s administration since the late 19th century, but its construction began in the 12th century: the first nucleus of the building is the one built between Cortevecchia Street and the Cathedral, begun in 1135. Its location therefore determines the political center of the city: on one side the ecclesiastical power and on the other the secular municipal power. In the second half of the 14th century, Marquis Niccolò II d’Este commissioned an initial extension, but it was with Duke Ercole I that the complex took on its current layout. Many additions and transformations have been made to the palace over the centuries, but it can be said that the most noticeable is, after Hercules’, that of the 1920s designed by Gerolamo and Carlo Savonuzzi.
The Open Monuments itinerary includes the Arengo Hall, the Council Chamber, the Mayor’s Offices and the Council Chamber.
