The Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 word arengario (also spelled arrengario or arengo; pl.: arengari, arrengari, arenghi) refers to government buildings of different historic periods. The word comes from the verb "arringare" ("to address"), as arengari usually have balconies from which the authorities would address the population in public speeches.

The word originally indicated the town hall

Seat of local government

In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...

 of Italian medieval commune

Medieval commune

Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...

s, especially in Northern Italy. It was reintroduced during the Fascist

Italian Fascism

Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...

 era, also to refer to local governments seats, such as the seat of the podestà

Podestà

Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the Emperor.The term derives from the Latin word potestas, meaning power...

 (mayor). As a consequence, a number of both medieval and modern (Fascist) buildings in different Italian cities are known as "Arengario". Notable arengari include:

• the medieval Arengario
  Arengario (Monza)
  The Arengario is a historic buildings in Monza, northern Italy. It was built in the 13th century and is named after its original function as the town's "arengario"...
  
   of Monza
  Monza
  Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...
  
  
• the medieval Arengario of Brescia
  Brescia
  Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
  
  
• the Fascist Arengario
  Palazzo dell'Arengario
  The Arengario Palace is a complex of two symmetrical buildings located in Piazza del Duomo, the central plaza of Milan, Italy. It was completed in the 1950s and currently houses the Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to 20th century art...
  
   of Milan
  Milan
  Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...