View of the piazza

Unknown local painter
oils on canvas
18th century

Neither the artist nor the provenance of this painting are known. Although rather mediocre, the value of this artwork lies in its depiction of the layout of the city’s main piazza featuring Fontana Maggiore. In the foreground is a dais from which a priest, shown from behind, is giving a sermon; to the right and left are groups of spectators; other figures dressed in white standing before the dais are probably the members of a confraternity.

The San Lorenzo cathedral is shown in the background where, at the top right, another group are observing the scene from a terrace. The painting is noteworthy in that enables us both to “attend” what was a typical everyday scene from the past, and to view the layout of the piazza. Among the details concerning the Fontana Maggiore is the location of a well nearby. It was in fact forbidden to draw water from the fountain itself which celebrated the commune’s “good governance”, which explains the need for a well adjacent to the monument whose original position is still marked today by a manhole cover.