Piazza delle Erbe, Verona

The central Piazza delle Erbe was the focal point of urban life in ancient Verona. It is located on the site of the ancient Roman Forum. Originally it was large (56 meters x 68 meters) and rectangular and then it was adapted to a Medieval shape and reduced in size. It was then delimited by the construction of the Palazzo del Comune . During the Scaligera period, it became a center for trade and commerce; to this end, various symbolic elements were added, such as the Fountain of the Madonna Verona, the Market Column (a Gothic structure built in 1401 to bear the viscount's insignia), the berlina (a marble canopy built to host the investiture of public office) and the Colonna di San Marco .