This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Between the first and second decades of the 14th century, Cangrande I della Scala, the lord of Verona, built his main residence next to the oldest family homes and the cemetery of Santa Maria Antica. In 1311, the residence was ready for habitation. Together with his wife Giovanna d'Antiochia, the lord lived in this palace, now known as Palazzo del Podestà, until his death (22 July 1329). Thereafter, the heirs expanded the structure, connecting it to the Loggia di Cansignorio (in the courtyard towards Corso Santa Anastasia) and to the buildings corresponding to the Loggia del Consiglio (the fifteenth-century palace in Piazza dei Signori). Around 1370, Cansignorio della Scala, Cangrande's nephew, commissioned the painter Altichiero to paint the loggia connected to the residence. The magnificent surviving paintings on the undersides of the arches, depicting a series of portraits of emperors, are preserved in the "G.B. Cavalcaselle" Museum of Frescoes. When Verona passed to the Republic of Venice in 1405, the residence was designated as the seat of the Podestà. In 1533, the mayor Giovanni Dolfin commissioned Michele Sanmicheli to design the doorway inspired by ancient Roman arches, located on the side facing the square. During the Napoleonic period, Prefect Antonio Smacini transformed the building in accordance with early 19th-century tastes. Between 1927 and 1930, Antonio Avena, Museum director, oversaw the renovation of the residence in medieval style, including the interior decorations, the results of which can still be seen today. The building currently houses the Prefecture.
