The Palatia Comunis Bononie and their commercial facilities in the 13th and 14th centuries.

After the Peace of Constance (1183), a decisive phase opened in the cities of north-central Italy. It is characterised by the consolidation of communal institutions and a substantial impetus towards town planning policy through impressive projects for the creation of suitable spaces for the management of a city in development. Between the 12th and the 13th century, the construction of public palaces and piazzas – elements of noteworthy political and urbanistic significance – began in many cities of north-central Italy. Moreover, there was a development of an economic policy that regulated the markets and commercial activities. The documentation taken under consideration shows the diversified allocation of the use of the Bolognese public palaces, but at the same time highlights the versatility of the structures capable to adapt themselves to the necessities coming up from time to time and thereby becoming multifunctional complexes. The fact that there was no unitary project at the beginning of a palace’s construction, trying to foresee what the communal body would need, corresponds to the experimental character of the new authority and with its capacity to adapt itself to new exigencies.