Palazzi dei Priori

(13th century, restored and extended in 1456 - 71)

In 1275, the Commune bought a site in the Piazza that extended from Via del Ceppo della Catena to Arco dei Priori from Messer Vagnozzo.  The two-storey "Palatium Novum Comunis Assisii" was completed in 1295.  Government by Priors was instituted in Assisi in ca. 1320, and the palace was used for these officials from this date.  The ground floor was used for shops a
nd also housed the standard weight measures of Assisi.

In 1337, the Commune bought the houses to the right of the Arco dei Priori from the Florentine bankers Rodolfo de' Bardi and Francesco di Buono di Nello, [as recorded by the tablet on the front wall].  These buildings were remodelled as a two-storey extension to the original palace, providing more space for the Priors.  These buildings were badly damaged in the sack of 1442 and restored in 1456 under Pope Sixtus IV, whose arms (along with those of cardinals Savelli and Orsini) appear [on the lower part of the front wall]. 

In 1471, a three-storey  extension was built to the right on what had been  the orchard of the palace.  Throughout these modifications, the ground floors of all three buildings continued in commercial use.  The Monte di Pietà also used part of the ground floor from 1493. 

The inscription high up and to the left of the Arco dei Priori records the fact that the Governor, Giovanni Andrea Cruciani instituted the new division of Assisi into three districts in 1542, on behalf of Pope Paul III.  This replaced the old division into five districts, one for each of the old city gates, and was intended to put an end to the factions based on these old divisions.

Panels from the chapel of the palace and from the Sala del Consiglio are preserved in the Pinacoteca.

The palaces took on their current appearance (which includes the addition of battlements to the oldest of the palaces) during a major restoration in 1926.  The city authorities still occupy much of this complex.

Return to Walk III