Palazzo Pretorio

A grandiose and harmonious quadrangular building, it is an illuminated example of Renaissance architecture. Seat of the Civil and Criminal Court frescoed by ancient coats of arms, still preserves the "dungeons" decorated with drawings and inscriptions. Today it is home to the Museum of Man and the Environment. Inside the building it is possible to admire the portico, an elegant loggia with three arches, with cross vaults, from which, through a "gateway", you can access the courtyard; the vaults are frescoed with splendours of heraldic coats of arms of the grand-ducal Commisars. The courtyard, bordered by a two-order triportico, Doric and Ionic, bound by a notched jagged cornice; in the middle the well, with a terracotta arch from which a singular perspective view can be admired. The criminal court, seat of the judicial administration of the first degree for the Romagna of Tuscany, presents lunettes frescoed with the symbols of justice, Christian devotion and Florentine power. The Medicee prisons composed of 9 cells, 2 public for civil or minor crimes and 7 secret or criminal reserved for criminal offenses. Angusta with barrel vaults have written and painted drawings and graffiti. The spiral staircase, built in sandstone blocks, develops vertically in double helix on a single central pivot, clearly inspired by Leonardo. Also called "the secret staircase of the Commissioner", as it allowed a security exit to the side of the building and access to prisons.