ANGELO DA ORVIETO

The outside of this palace, of which only the ground and the greater part of the first floors were ever built, is directly developed from that of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The main feature of the fa�ade is the interplay between the symmetrical first-floor windows, the virtually symmetrical minor openings below, and the offset and unevenly sized pair of doors.

The inscription on the main door refers to Angelo as “architector” and couples his name with those of Baldo di Marco and Bartolomeo di Gano, who are described as “superstite”.

The main internal interest lies in the interaction between the almost glacial flow of a broad stairway of shallow, sloping, stone-faced brick flights and the low, vaulted entrance chamber with its round-arched ribs and two octagonal columns.

The Palazzo dei Consoli (Palace of the Consuls) was built in 1332-1349 under design by Angelo da Orvieto, who is mentioned in the inscription on the portal.

The fa�ade on the square is in stone, with round arched windows in the upper part, placed in couples separated by lesenes. Above them are the merlons, supported by ogival arches.

The lower part features mullioned windows enclosing the Gothic-style portal, with a 16th-century fresco in the lunette. The portal, preceded by a fan-shaped staircase, leads to a big hall with barrel vaults that, in the communal age, housed the citizens’ meeting.

The picture shows the fa�ade on the square.

The palace was built between 1332 and 1346 when Gubbio was a self-governing city. In the foreground is the loggia of the weavers.

In Gubbio, the Palazzo dei Consoli, the Palazzo Pretorio, and a large part of the Piazza della Signoria (called Piazza Grande) are a single vast construction built out from the hillside. It is the dominant feature of a great design, which is among the most remarkable single feats of civic planning in the history of medieval Italy. Angelo da Orvieto was probably responsible for the entire scheme, as well as for the whole of the Palazzo dei Consoli.

The project was already under discussion in 1322 and building may have been started soon afterwards. The still unfinished Palazzo dei Consoli was inaugurated in 1338. In 1349-56 the aqueduct leading water to the upper chamber was completed.

The photo shows the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo dei Consoli (left) and the Palazzo Pretorio (right).

View the diagrams of the section of Palazzo dei Consoli and Palazzo Pretorio (above) and plan of Piazza della Signoria (below) in Gubbio.

In Gubbio, the Palazzo dei Consoli, the Palazzo Pretorio, and a large part of the Piazza della Signoria (called Piazza Grande) are a single vast construction built out from the hillside. It is the dominant feature of a great design, which is among the most remarkable single feats of civic planning in the history of medieval Italy. Angelo da Orvieto was probably responsible for the entire scheme, as well as for the whole of the Palazzo dei Consoli.

The project was already under discussion in 1322 and building may have been started soon afterwards. The still unfinished Palazzo dei Consoli was inaugurated in 1338. In 1349-56 the aqueduct leading water to the upper chamber was completed.

The photo shows the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo dei Consoli (left) and the Palazzo Pretorio (right).

View the diagrams of the section of Palazzo dei Consoli and Palazzo Pretorio (above) and plan of Piazza della Signoria (below) in Gubbio.

The main internal interest in the palace lies in the interaction between the almost glacial flow of a broad stairway of shallow, sloping, stone-faced brick flights and the low, vaulted entrance chamber with its round-arched ribs and two octagonal columns.

The photo shows the entrance chamber with the stairway.