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Cerchia dei Navigli in Milano in Città Metropolitana di Milano, Lombardy, Italy — Southern and Western Europe (Mediterranean)
 

Piazza dei Mercanti
⎯⎯⎯
Merchants Square

 
 
Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 15, 2023
1. Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square Marker
Inscription.  
Centro del potere pubblico cittadino dall'età comunale sino al XVIII secolo, il broletto nuovo viene costruito a partire dal 1228 in sostituzione di quello vecchio localizzato nei pressi di Palazzo Reale. Aveva in origine forma quadrata chiusa su ogni lato da edifici, in gran parte porticati, destinati a ospitare le principali magistrature, le istituzioni commerciali, i tribunali, le carceri e le università. Il complesso costituiva una vera e propria cittadella accessibile attraverso sei portoni dei quali ne restano oggi soltanto due. Al centro della piazza sorgeva il Salone dei Giudici, l'attuale Palazzo della Ragione (1). Nella seconda metà dell'Ottocento, con la demolizione di due porte, viene aperta l'attuale via dei Mercanti; l'area perde così la sua connotazione di recinto chiuso e diventa spazio di attraversamento tra il Duomo e il Cordusio. Su ciò che resta della piazza medievale si affacciano oggi edifici in gran parte rimaneggiati: le case d'affitto, costruite nel 1873 in luogo della Residenza del Podestà (2); il neogotico Palazzo della Banca Popolare di Lodi (3), costruito nel 1872 da G. B. Sormani;
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la Loggia degli Osii (4), voluta da Matteo Visconti nel 1316 e restaurata da G. B. Borsari e A. Savoldi nel 1904, con la celebre parlera, da dove venivano annunciati editti e sentenze; le Scuole Palatine (5), realizzate da Carlo Buzzi nel 1644-45; la Casa dei Panigarola (6), famiglia di notai, profondamente trasformata nel 1899 dai restauri di Luca Beltrami. Al centro è collocata una vera da pozzo (7) cinquecentesca che ha sostituito la pietra dei falliti, su cui sedevano i condannati esposti al pubblico ludibrio.


The centre of public power in the city from the age of the communes to the 18th century, Merchant's Square, or the Broletto Nuovo, was created from 1228 onwards to replace the old market near Palazzo Reale. It was square in shape and closed off on all sides by mostly porticoed buildings housing the main magistrates' offices, law courts, prisons, commercial institutions and universities. The complex was a miniature citadel accessed through six gateways, only two of which survive. At the centre of the square stood the Judges' Hall, today's Palazzo della Ragione (1). In the second half of the 19th century two of the gateways were demolished to create Via dei Mercanti. As a result, the area ceased to be a protected enclosure and instead became a space connecting the Cathedral with Piazza Cordusio. The buildings that today overlook what
Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square Marker - wide view image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 15, 2023
2. Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square Marker - wide view
remains of the medieval square are mostly remodelled: the tenements built in 1873 in place of the Residenza del Podestà (2); the neo-Gothic Palazzo della Banca Popolare di Lodi (3), built in 1872 by G. B. Sormani; the Loggia degli Osii (4), commissioned by Matteo Visconti in 1316 and restored by G. B. Borsari and A. Savoldi in 1904, with the famous Parlera, the balcony from which decrees and sentences were read out; the Scuole Palatine (5), built by Carlo Buzzi in 1644-45; and the Casa dei Panigarola (6), the home of a family of notaries, radically modified by Luca Beltrami's restoration of 1899. The 16th-century well (7) in the centre of the square replaced the Pietra dei Falliti, the stone on which offenders were exposed to public ridicule and abuse.

 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Places. In addition, it is included in the Milan Red-Gray Stelae series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1228.
 
Location. 45° 27.866′ N, 9° 11.272′ E. Marker is in Milano, Lombardia (Lombardy), in Città Metropolitana di Milano. It is in Cerchia dei Navigli. It is on Piazza dei Mercanti, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Piazza dei Mercanti 7, Milano, Lombardia 20123, Italy. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Europe, the European Union, the Schengen Area, a coastal Mediterranean country, and the Western World. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire, and specifically the Holy Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Palazzo della Ragione (within shouting distance of this
Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square, looking south from the marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 15, 2023
3. Piazza dei Mercanti / Merchants Square, looking south from the marker
marker); Piazza Duomo (within shouting distance of this marker); Ernest Hemingway (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Amatore Sciesa (about 150 meters away); Palazzo dell’Ambrosiana (about 180 meters away); Santa Maria presso San Satiro (about 180 meters away); Filippo Turati and Anna Kuliscioff (about 180 meters away); Arengario - Museo del Novecento (about 210 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milano.
 
Also see . . .  Piazza Mercanti (Wikipedia).
Overview: Piazza Mercanti ("Merchants Square") is a central city square of Milan, Italy. It is located between Piazza del Duomo, which marks the centre of the modern city of Milan, and Piazza Cordusio, and it used to be the heart of the city in the Middle Ages...
(Submitted on April 8, 2023.) 
 
Marker inset map image. Click for full size.
4. Marker inset map
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 8, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 8, 2023, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
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Jun. 25, 2026