Piazza dei Tribunali-ingl

PIAZZA DEI TRIBUNALI located behind the Basilica of San Domenico, was opened between 1826 and 1827, when the block in front of Palazzo Ruini was demolished. The order was given by Felice Baciocchi, who at the time owned the palace. He was a politician and the husband of Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon. However, the new square did not turn out to be very large because Baciocchi lacked the funds to compensate the expropriated owners. Financial difficulties hindered his attempts to modernise the city and create new urban spaces, but some historians believe that, had his original plans been accomplished, the square could have become one of the most important centres of Napoleonic Bologna, with imposing buildings and a central role in public affairs. The main building, Palazzo Ruini, features a façade completed around 1582, likely based on a design by Andrea Palladio. It is called Ruini because it belonged to the Ruini family until 1634, after which it passed to the Ranuzzi family and, finally, in 1822, to the Baciocchi. In a final change of ownership, it was purchased in 1873 by the Municipality of Bologna, which designated it as the seat of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bologna. Initially, after the expropriation, the square was named after Felice Baciocchi, but following the transformation of the palace into a courthouse, it was renamed Piazza dei Tribunali in 1878. Between 1920 and 1940, it was renamed Piazza Giulio Giordani, after the liberal councillor who died during the fascist attack on Palazzo d’Accursio in 1920. After the war, it resumed its current name. During renovation works in the 20th century, remains of ancient medieval structures were discovered beneath the square, including drainage channels and parts of the original city walls. These findings suggest that the area was a strategic point since medieval times, directly connected to the city’s defence. Some artefacts are on display in city museums, but there remains an air of mystery around the still unexplored sections beneath the square.