Piazza Cavour

While Piazza Tre Martiri was the original heart of the city from its foundation, and is the largest square, Piazza Cavour became the centre of the city’s commercial and political life in the early Middle Ages and remains extremely important in the social, political and commercial life of the city.
It was the original palatium Comunis where the Grand Council of the city met.
The importance of the square began with the construction of the Palazzo dell’Arengo between 1204 and 1207. Piazza Cavour (or Campo del Comune, in Venetian style) developed with the construction of the Palazzo del Podestà in 1330 and the building of the nearby Castel Sismondo in 1400, but the square began to take on its current form from the 16th century.
Today the square is one of the city’s social centres. Numerous bars and shops line the square. On one side are the historical buildings: Palazzo Garampi, Palazzo Arengo and Palazzo Podestà.
In the centre is the Fontana della Pigna, built in its present form (a fountain here dates back to Roman times) by Giovanni da Carrara in 1543, and the statue of Pope Paul V, built in 1614, a reminder that for much of its history Rimini was directly under the control of the Papacy. The Galli Theatre and the Old Fish Market also stand in the beautiful square.