Palazzo Pubblico

About the museum

The Palazzo Pubblico stands in Piazza della Libertà, in the heart of the City of San Marino, on the site of the Domus Magna Comunis, the old town hall built towards the end of the 14th century and demolished at the end of the 19th century because it was unsafe. The new building was erected between 1884 and 1894 to a design by the Roman architect Francesco Azzurri, who drew inspiration from the simple, austere style of the civic palaces of the 13th and 14th centuries. The first stone was laid on 17 May 1884; the building was inaugurated on 30 September 1894, with a speech by Giosuè Carducci.

The façade is supported by three pointed arches and culminates in the clock tower, decorated with a mosaic triptych showing the Saints Leo, Agata and Marino. On the right side stands the bronze statue of San Marino by Giulio Tadolini, dating from 1894. From the central balcony, on 1 April and 1 October each year, the names of the Captains Regent elected for the six-month term are announced. In summer, the changing of the guard of the Guardia di Rocca takes place in front of the palace.

The interior houses the seats of the State’s institutional bodies: the Captains Regent, the Consiglio Grande e Generale, the Consiglio dei XII and the Congresso di Stato. Notable spaces include the vast entrance hall with the grand staircase and the small Hall of the Consiglio dei XII, with an image of Saint Marino attributed to Bartolomeo Gennari, and the Hall of the Consiglio Grande e Generale, with sixty seats and the large tempera painting by Emilio Retrosi from 1894. A major restoration and refurbishment project, directed by Gae Aulenti, was completed on 30 September 1996.

Highlights

• Façade with clock tower, coats of arms and the balcony of the Captains Regent
• Hall of the Consiglio Grande e Generale with the tempera “L’apparizione di San Marino al suo popolo” by Emilio Retrosi (1894)
• Hall of the Consiglio dei XII with the image of Saint Marino attributed to Bartolomeo Gennari
• Entrance hall with grand staircase, Baroque coat of arms of the Republic and bust of Giosuè Carducci
• Changing of the guard of the Guardia di Rocca in the summer months

Founded

1894

Operated by

Repubblica di San Marino – Istituti Culturali (Musei di Stato)

Admission & discounts

Free admission: 5 February, 7 July, 3 September, 27 September and European Heritage Day (according to the annual calendar)

The Pass Intero (full price, €11) and Pass Ridotto (reduced, €8) tickets are valid for all Musei di Stato (State Museums): Prima Torre, Seconda Torre, Palazzo Pubblico (when open to visitors), Museo di Stato, Museo Pinacoteca San Francesco, Galleria Nazionale and Museo del Francobollo e della Moneta. Admission is also free for school groups, teachers with a certificate form, ICOM members and journalists with a press card.

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