Loggia di Frà Giocondo

Loggia di Frà Giocondo stands in Verona as a Renaissance civic building with marble columns, painted façades, and statues above the roofline. Its setting reflects a deliberate urban change, because the façade was set back to regularise the square after an older building had deteriorated.

Verona’s council commissioned the loggia in 1476 for official meetings, and construction finished in 1493 through a collaboration of local humanists and builders. Five statues represent ancient Veronese figures: Catullus, Vitruvius, Emilio Macro, Pliny the Elder, and Cornelius Nepos. Inside, paintings trace episodes from Verona’s history, while Girolamo Campagna’s bronze Annunciation reliefs once occupied the centre of the façade. Restoration campaigns followed between 1820 and 1838, between 1870 and 1874, and during the twentieth century.

One striking detail is the former protomoteca, which displayed 110 medallions, busts, and stone heads of notable people from Verona. Today, the building houses the Province of Verona’s offices and continues to host official meetings and events.