Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo

Built in 1280 as the seat of Reggio Emilia's Capitano del Popolo, this palace on Piazza del Monte later became a hospice and then a hotel. Its reconstructed medieval façade and surviving painted interiors preserve evidence of the city's communal history.

Why it matters

The palace housed the Capitano del Popolo, one of the offices through which medieval communes represented civic interests alongside the podestà. It stands beside the Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, within a square that brought together civic and commercial life. Although the building has changed function, its medieval architecture and interior decoration remain important traces of Reggio's communal period.

What to notice

The façades facing Piazza del Monte and Via Emilia display coats of arms belonging to the Capitani del Popolo and the community. The Salone dei Difensori was once used for city council meetings. Its exposed wooden trusses and fourteenth-century wall decorations include heraldic shields and heads of saints, described by the municipal portal as rare evidence of local medieval painting.

Context and history

The palace was restored in 1432 and in 1515 became the Ospizio del Cappello Rosso, an inn that expanded into the adjacent building. It was modernised as the Albergo della Posta in 1913. Work on the façade beginning in 1920 uncovered remains of the medieval front; a reconstruction completed in 1929 used that surviving fabric to restore the building's thirteenth-century appearance. The palace is now associated with Hotel Posta.