Palazzo del Podestà (Palazzo Pretorio)

Gubbio's Palazzo del Podestà, also known as Palazzo Pretorio, faces Palazzo dei Consoli across Piazza Grande. Its unfinished Gothic exterior preserves an interrupted phase of the city's medieval civic ambitions.

Why it matters

The two palaces formed complementary seats of communal authority. Their relationship with the raised square made government a defining element of Gubbio's urban landscape, even though the Podestà's palace never received its intended complete form.

What to notice

The austere block contrasts with the more elaborate Palazzo dei Consoli. Later alterations interrupt the medieval exterior. The original arrangement provided a large hall on each floor, with an octagonal central pillar supporting cross vaults. The substantial arched substructures beneath Piazza Grande reveal the engineering needed to establish this civic setting on the hillside.

Context and history

The palace dates to 1349. The end of communal autonomy under the Gabrielli lordship in 1350 interrupted the building programme. Alterations followed in 1475 and the seventeenth century, with further expansion in the nineteenth century. These changes adapted the unfinished medieval building to later administrative needs.