Piazza della Libertà

Piazza della Libertà in Faenza brings together the Renaissance Duomo, the seventeenth-century Fontana di Piazza and the Portico degli Orefici.

Why it matters

The square provides a civic setting for Faenza's cathedral and surrounding buildings from different periods. The Duomo, designed by Giuliano da Maiano and begun in 1474, is a major example of Tuscan Renaissance influence in Romagna. The fountain and portico later added civic and commercial architecture to the ensemble.

What to notice

The cathedral's unfinished brick facade rises above a completed marble base and reflects the three-aisled interior. Domenico Paganelli designed the Fontana di Piazza, executed by Domenico Castelli between 1619 and 1621; its eagles and dragons carry the arms of Pope Paul V, while lions represent Faenza. The Portico degli Orefici, built between 1604 and 1611 to a design by Giovanni Battista Aleotti, extends for sixty metres on Doric columns. Liberty-style ceramic decoration was added to part of it in the early twentieth century. The Neoclassical pharmacy of the Duomo, designed by Pasquale Saviotti around 1820, also survives beneath the portico.

Context and history

A wooden portico and shops once faced the cathedral, until Carlo II Manfredi cleared the area as part of changes to the city centre. The Duomo was built on a site with an earlier eighth-century church; its first stone was laid in 1474 by Bishop Federico Manfredi. The seventeenth century brought the fountain and jewellers' portico, while later centuries added new facades and the Liberty-style upper decoration. The square is a layered record of Faenza's civic and architectural history.