Piazza Paolo VI is Brescia’s main square, as well as the largest, is part of a greater square system. It dates from the medieval period. Here one finds the Duomo Vecchio and the Duomo Nuovo, as well as Il Broletto, the city hall building. But the most beautiful of the squares in Brescia is the neighbouring one, Piazza de la Loggia. Its origins date back to the Renaissance, when, in 1489, work on the Loggia is begun under Filippo Grassi, in the most authentic Venetian style. All the buildings in the square are its visual subordinates, mirroring its arch. On the opposite side, one notices the Torre dell’Orologio, whose colonnade ensures the transition towards Piazza Paolo VI. The astronomical clock in the tower dates from 1546. Piazza della Loggia holds three of the four “talking statues” of Brescia, where the inhabitants voice their grievances about the way in which the city was governed by leaving notes on these statues.
