Pavia, Piazza della Vittoria

The “Piazza Grande” (Big Square), as it is commonly known, was opened in the second half of the 14th century during a town rearrangement commissioned by the Visconti family.
Closed by the broletto - a building that has hosted the representative offices and the municipal administration since 1164 – the square includes a part dating back to the 13th century and one dating back to the Renaissance, visibile in the staircase and in the double order of loggias.
The palazzo - composed of various edifices that were added and modified in time – is marked by the usual Lombard, rectangular-block structure, opened at the bottom and composed of a single large reception room on the first floor.
Among the evident rearrangements are the adding of the second floor (used as a jail), and the internal and external transformations of 1872, after which the building became a school.
The palazzo onto Piazza Grande combines the 13th – century building and the ensuing enlargements of the bishop’s palace, which also includes the mullioned window with two lights discovered during the restoration works carried out in 1928.
The Loggetta Rinascimentale (Renaissance Loggia) and the staircase surmounted by the clock are placed against the large front of the palazzo.