Piazza delle Erbe is a square in Verona

Verona

Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

, northern Italy. Once it was the town's forum

Forum (Roman)

A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...

 during the time of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.

Description

The northern side of the square is occupied by the ancient town hall, the Torre dei Lamberti

Torre dei Lamberti

The Torre dei Lamberti is 84 m high tower in Verona, northern Italy.The tower was begun in 1172; in May 1403 a lightning struck it, but only in 1448 restoration works were started, lasting until 1464. In the occasion the tower was enlarged: the more recent sections can be recognized today by...

, the Casa dei Giudici ("Judges Hall") and the Mazzanti Houses. The western side, the shortest one, features the Baroque Palazzo Maffei

Palazzo Maffei

Palazzo Maffei is a historical palace in Verona, northern Italy, on the north-western side of Piazza delle Erbe.-History:A building existed in the current location in the 15th century, but on 20 December 1469 the nobleman Marcantonio Maffei decided to expand it by adding a third floor.Construction...

, decorated by statues of Greek gods. It is faced by a white marble column, on which is St. Mark's Lion, symbol of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

.

The north-western side occupies the site of the ancient Roman Capitol Hill, which looked towards the Forum. Numerous of its buildings facing the square have maintained façade frescoes. On the southern side is the Casa dei Mercanti ("House of the Merchants", also known as Domus Mercatorum), now the seat of the Banca Popolare di Verona

Banca Popolare di Verona

The "Banca Popolare di Verona" is an Italian bank, part of the "Banco Popolare" Group, based in Verona, North Italy.The original name of "Banca Popolare di Verona" was "Banca Mutua Popolare di Verona", founded on 21 June 1867....

. Other buildings are reminiscent of medieval tower-houses.

The square's most ancient monument is the fountain, surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona, which is however a Roman sculpture dating to 380 AD. Also historical is the capitello, dating to the 13th century, during which it was used for several ceremonies, including the oath of the city's medieval 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...

 and pretors. Towards Via Cappello is another column, with a 14th century aedicula

Aedicula

In religion in ancient Rome, an aedicula is a small shrine. The word aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aedes, a temple building or house....

with reliefs of the Virgin and the Saints Zeno, Peter and Christopher.