Maybe because of its fate of being burnt and reborn, in Cagli more than anywhere else an impression of construction and reconstruction appears to have materialized in some of its main buildings. This stratification is typical, for example, of Palazzo Pubblico (“Public Building”), the product of the merger of two separate buildings: Palazzo Grande (“the Great Building”), the seat of the city council dominating Matteotti Square, and Palazzo del Podestà (“The Podestà Building”). Currently the location of the city administration, in Palazzo Pubblico the ancient jail can be visited, whose small cells still transmit the feeling of anguished claustrophobia of those who were detained there. It is also the seat of the Archaeological and Via Flaminia Museum and its rich collection of findings from the surrounding area, mostly from Fondarca. The Building also hosts the Hall of Coats of Arms where in 1889 the 600th anniversary of Cagli’s reconstruction was celebrated by painting there the crests of all cities that offered their contribution. A collection of elements so various in age and nature is completed, in the court, by Cosmic Order, a sculpture by the famous contemporary artist Eliseo Mattiacci. The presence of modern works in a historical context associates Palazzo Pubblico and the Martinian Tower, the real emblem of the city. Named after the brilliant architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who was very proud of this work of his, the Tower, originally meant for military purposes, hosts nowadays the Centre of Contemporary Sculpture, with works by internationally renowned artists, including Mattiacci, along with Kounellis, Nagasawa and Icaro. The Tower is also the starting point of the suggestive “Soccorso coverto” (“Hidden support”), a structure unique in Italy. It is an underground escape path which, through 267 steep steps, penetrates into the hills that once led to the by now demolished citadel, that was replaced by the Convent of Capuchins. Getting on top of the Tower one has a chance to admire the charming natural sight surrounding Cagli, dominated by its mountains.
Palazzo Pubblico
Museo Archeologico e della Via Flaminia