Enamelled terracotta medallion of 1489, bearing the arms of Florentine commissioner Piero di Niccolò d'Andrea del Benino, on the façade of Palazzo Pretorio in Volterra, Tuscany, Italy. One of many such plaques recalling how, in the late 1400s, Florence’s Medici rulers ruthlessly crushed any hopes that Volterra might retain some independence. The Palazzo, founded in 1208, is Tuscany’s oldest town hall and was once the city’s seat of civic, judicial and military power. It is still the seat of local government, housing civic offices and a frescoed council chamber.
Volterra, Tuscany, Italy: enamelled terracotta medallions or plaques bearing the arms of Florentine commissioners, such as this example of 1489 for Piero di Niccolò d'Andrea del Benino, stud the Piazza dei Priori façade of Palazzo Pretorio, the oldest town hall in Tuscany. The building, founded in 1208, was once Volterra’s seat of civic, judicial and military power. The plaques are a reminder of how, in the late 1400s, Florence’s Medici rulers ruthlessly crushed any lingering hopes still held by Volterra that it could retain a degree of independence. Palazzo Pretorio, built entirely in stone and crowned by battlements, occupies one side of Piazza dei Priori. The palace as it now stands is the result of changes made after an earthquake in 1846, with several separate buildings joined together. The Palazzo’s partly rebuilt tower, the Torre del Porcellino (Tower of the Little Pig) takes its name from a carving of a stone pig perched on a shelf next to a window near the top. Another pig is crudely carved in relief at the base of the tower - although some writers have suggested that the animals are wild boar rather than domestic pigs - or even rats. Today, Palazzo Pretorio is still the seat of local government in Volterra, housing civic offices, the mayor’s rooms, a frescoed council chamber, the city registry office and exhibition space.
Size: 2592px × 3872px
Location: Palazzo Pretorio, Piazza dei Priori, Volterra, Tuscany, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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