Palazzo Pretorio

Palazzo Pretorio

Tracing the origins of Fiesole also means getting to know its public buildings, such as Palazzo Pretorio, the seat of the Fiesole municipality.

Built in the 14th century and rebuilt in 1463, after the administrative reform of Pietro Leopoldo (1774), the palace remained inactive for a long time and was sometimes used for various purposes according to the needs. It was only in 1910, when the new boundaries of the Municipality of Fiesole were defined (Law No. 345 of July 7, 1910), that the Palace was definitively chosen as the municipal seat.​

The front features a double loggia, and the facade displays numerous podestà coats of arms, dating from 1541 to 1808, some of which are now preserved inside. The first Podestà to take office in the palace was Giovanni di Dino Dazzi, in 1467.

Today the Praetorian Palace, in addition to housing the offices of the municipal administration, preserves and exhibits some important works by Fiesole artists in the most prestigious rooms. Of particular note is the Sala del Basolato, located below the palace and used for temporary exhibitions and events, which owes its name to the archaeological discovery of a piece of Roman road (basolato, in fact) belonging to the ancient decumanus maximus, the main street in Roman cities, which ran in an east-west direction. Another representative room is the Council Chamber, on the second floor, where, during renovations in 2013, frescoes probably dating back to Castellucci’s nineteenth-century interventions came to light.