PIAZZA GRAND E

It was given the present name. Piazza Vasari. after the construction of Logge Vasari. However, the former name, Piazza Grande (it is the biggest square in town), is widely used still today.
No doubt this is one of the most attractive squares in Italy owing to its typical slope and trapezoidal shape. both summoning suggestive sights. The west side of the square is dominated by the apse of the Pieve di S. Maria (restored at the end of the last century), with its blind arches on the lower part and two blind loggias placed one upon another. To its right there is the Palace of the Court, planned by the Roman Francesco Cerrotti, and strictly linked with the Fraternita dei Laici Palace, the facade of which assembles many different styles.
Its basement floor, which was built at the end of the XIV century, is Gothic. The lunette above the door contains a detached fresco depicting the Pity by Spinello Aretino (1395). The second floor (of the Renaissance period) was projected and built by Rossellino on the first half of the XV century. He is also the author of the sculpture present on the facade: the Madonna of Mercy and the two Saints on her sides. The bell tower was raised in the XVI century: the famous clock by Felice da Fossato (1552) adorns it inside. The highest part of the piazza is enclosed by the imposing Palace of the Logge by Giorgio Vasari (1573). which represents one of his main works.
The two other sides of the square are characterised by typical medieval houses with wooden balconies. Among them on the east side the XIV Century Lappoli Palace and its tower (XlII century) bear particular notice, whereas the Tower-Palace of Cofani dominates the south-western side. Its tower was raised in the XIII century, on the contrary the palace is more recent: its lower part dates back to the XIV century, and its upper part is of the Renaissance period.