In an elevated position with respect to Piazza Grande, which it overlooks, the Palazzo dei Consoli is one of the most successful urban planning achievements of the Middle Ages and the symbol of Gubbio.
Approval for the building’s construction was given between 1321-22 but the work itself was carried out between 1332 and 1349, based on a plan by Andrea di Orvieto (who is also commemorated in an inscription on the entrance portal) and the intervention of Matteo di Giovannello, also known as Gattapone. The Palazzo dei Consoli – together with the Piazza Grande and the nearby Palazzo del Podestà – was part of an ambitious urban planning project that was designed to demonstrate the power and autonomy of the Free Commune of Gubbio during the years of its great expansion. This was the reasoning behind the choice of construction site (the building stands exactly in the town centre, as a hub of the various districts, illustrating its administrative centrality for the entire community) and the grandeur of the structure. Inside the building there were toilets and fountains, fed by an extraordinary internal plumbing system, proof of the expertise achieved by local workmanship.
The Palazzo has an elegant but sober facade, divided into three levels by horizontal pilasters: the monumental entrance portal is on the ground level, accessible via a fan-shaped staircase, with mullioned windows on either sides; on the next level there are six elegant windows decorated with denticulate arches; the top level has an embattled upper edge and a panoramic terrace. On the upper part of the left side stands the bell tower while the lower part is supported by a loggia that descended into Via Baldassini. Gubbio’s famous ‘Campanone’ (huge bell) dates back to the 18th century and weighs about 20 tons.
Inside the building, the ground floor is occupied by the immense Sala dell’Arengo which once housed the General Council of the People and today is home to the city’s Museo Civico. A rich collection of inscriptions, sculptures and decorations attest to the history of Gubbio and its surrounding territory between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD. Of all the archaeological finds, of course, the most outstanding are the Iguvine Tablets: seven bronze tablets discovered in the 15th century bearing inscriptions in Latin and in the ancient Umbrian language relating to religious rituals and the daily life of the time.
In addition to the epigraphic collection, the museum, inaugurated in 1909, includes the Pinacoteca (picture gallery) on the upper floor, a room formerly used for work by medieval consuls.
Every year, on the first Sunday of May and until the 15th of the same month, the famous Ceri di Gubbio are carried from the Basilica di Sant’Ubaldo to the Sala dell’Arengo in the city, where they are kept until the day of the folk festival run.