Piazza del Plebiscito

Piazza del Plebiscito in Ancona is also known as Piazza del Papa, after its statue of Clement XII. Its elongated space rises through several levels, linked by stairways and ramps.

Why it matters

The square records successive phases of the city's civic and political life. The papal monument and the name recalling the 1860 plebiscite preserve different moments in Ancona's relationship with wider powers.

What to notice

Agostino Cornacchini's seated figure of Clement XII forms a focal point within the stepped setting. The monument's pedestal and balustrades connect sculpture with the design of the square. Palazzo del Governo and its tower add a civic presence, while San Domenico closes the upper end. The changing levels distinguish the piazza from a single flat open space.

Context and history

The square developed in the fifteenth century and was known as Piazza Nuova and Piazza Grande. Cornacchini's statue arrived in Ancona in 1738; work on its setting followed. Pietro Zara later remodelled the stairs and ramps in the early nineteenth century. The present official name recalls the plebiscite associated with the city's passage from papal rule towards Italian unification.