Palazzo della Ragione (Padua)

The Palazzo della Ragione ( German about, Court Palace ') in the northern Italian city of Padua is one of the most important secular buildings of the High and Late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance in Europe. The located between two places building served - an ancient basilica comparable - initially as a market and courthouse, and later mainly as a representative council and reception hall.

Architectural History

The Palazzo della Ragione was built in the years 1172-1218 and about a century later (1306-1309) increased by a roof structure, whose huge, stabilized by tie rods wood vaulted summarized three separate rooms. After a fire in 1420, the partitions were removed from the charge of the reconstruction Venetian architect and together the three separate rooms to a huge hall; probably also the existing vault was thereby renewed. In 1756 a tornado destroyed the roof and parts of the building, so that a new reconstruction was necessary.

Architecture

The actual built of brick core building is clad inside and out. The now visible exterior front with its double arcades should come from the early 15th century. While the long-span brick arches of the ground floor of dressed stone and in the spandrels with small round holes ( oculi ) are provided, the rest only about half as wide arcades of the upper floor on slender columns. In a reminiscent of the Middle Ages arched frieze in the roof structure, the masonry brick exterior walls are divided by pilasters and are exposed from an original two-sided row of windows and round windows, repeats appears. In surrounded by a headstrong designed battlements and now covered with zinc sheet roofs provide a number of small rectangular windows for extra light and ventilation.

Council Chamber

The approximately 82 meters long, about 27 meters wide and 25 meters high council room ( Salone ) with its support loose and only held together by iron tie rods wooden vault, which is reminiscent in its manner of construction of an inverted ship's hull one of the most extraordinary architectural creations of the late middle Ages. Maybe it is a work of Venetian ship carpenters who mastered the lateral arched Abwalmungen. After the fire of 1420, the hall in the years 1425 to 1440 was equipped with a fresco cycle, which more than a hundred frames to build on the astrological and religious considerations and speculations Pietro d' Abano.

At one of the two narrow sides is a larger than life wooden horse, which is seen as a copy of the horse from the equestrian statue Gattamelatas. Also two Egyptian sphinxes are exhibited there, who were brought to Italy in the 19th century by Giovanni Battista Belzoni. In one corner of the huge room, a Foucault pendulum can be seen.