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The City Hall

The City Hall or Palazzo Communale, being the current seat of local government representatives for Sarzana, is the building which best demonstrates the dynamism of the local citizens.

In this old and modern building it was attempted to create a structure to satisy functional and style criteria in an homogenous and characteristic manner, notwithstanding that the project was interrupted several times over the course of the centuries.

The first project started in 1466 but the construction was not brought to a conclusion. The work restarted only in 1473 under the Florentines, but it was interrupted again by the conquest of the city by the Genoese.

At the start of the 1500's the city came under the control of the Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of Saint George) and the construction was completed in 1554 with substantial changes from the original Florentine plans in favour of forms that record the Genoese tradition, especially by the courtyard surrounded by coats of arms and emblems of those city governors who ruled the city. The figure of Saint George who slew the dragon is positioned in front of the staircase in honour of those wielding power over the city.

In the 1800's the portico faced Piazza Luni and the balcony, supported on two pillars, faced Piazza Matteotti standing over the main entrance. From the main door you enter into a large square courtyard, surrounded by an arcaded loggia supported by a marble collonade, in which are exhibited many marble finds from various eras. On the top floor note the base relief of Saint George killing the dragon (XVI century), at one time positioned in the "loggia dei soldati" (soldiers' loggia) in the main gait to the city.

The city hall is also a venue for art and culture hosting many exhibitions and cultural initiatives.

MONUMENTS OF HISTORICAL CENTER