Piazza Ugo Dallò

Today dedicated to Ugo Dallò (anti-fascist who died in 1937), at the time of the Gonzaga family it was called Piazza Colonna and was the administrative center of the city. The ancient name derives from the column of Justice (also known as that of San Michele) from the 1600s which has at its top the statue of Astrea, goddess of justice, next to which capital sentences were carried out.
In front of the column there is the Prison Tower with the Prison Fountain. This structure represented the final part of the Prince’s Palace and was adjacent to the ancient prisons. Among the buildings worth mentioning, Casa Caravaggio, the ancient seat of the Monte di Pietà which hosted Napoleon Bonaparte before the battle of 5 August 1796. In the center of the square stands the fountain dedicated to Madonna Domenica Calubini.

A curiosity is the “whale coast” hanging on the corner with Via Chiassi, it was donated at the end of the 18th century by Carlo Brescianelli from Castiglione who made his fortune in the Netherlands, becoming president of the Amstedam Chamber of Commerce.