Voltone del Podestà

Curiosity Bologna, Italy

The Palazzo del Podestà in Bologna overlooks Piazza Maggiore, in the heart of the city, together with the Palazzo Comunale and the Basilica of San Petronio. Under the Palazzo del Podestà. Originally it was the site of the market and the notaries' desks, under its arches were then carried out the pillory sentences for blasphemers or even capital sentences by hanging. A few centuries later a religious significance was also attributed to it with the placement of the four statues of the protectors of Bologna (S. Petronio, San Francesco, San Domenico and San Procolo). The shape of the vault still arouses interest due to a curious phenomenon of transmission of sound waves.