Versione Alfa 0.1.03

The current building is the result of several renovations carried out since 1400; the council room is an example of that: it was built with the expansion of the first floor, and the seaward wall is part of the fourteenth-century town wall. Also, some important relics from the ancient city history are on show in the council room:

• a cinerary urn from the 3rd century AD;

• the ancient goblet used to collect the council members' votes;

• a firecracker holder (in old times, firecrackers were used during the major celebrations);

• the city herald's trumpet and flag;

• Madam Lidoria's 7th-century headstone, discovered in the ancient cemetery around the Church of San Paragorio;

• some religious frescos (14th century), inside a glass case, coming from the arcade of the Tower of San Giovanni;

• a bronze bell from the Church of San Francesco;

• the original last flag of the Republic, with a picture of Our Lady the two city patron saints, Paragorio and Eugenio.

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The Town Hall Tower

This thirteenth-century tower is 33 metres high and stands in the middle of the main town square. The structure is the typical one for this kind of buildings: a square base made in green stones and mortar, while the upper part is made of bricks. The battlements at the top are still completely visible, but they are a remake of the original ones. The tower has several floors; the upper one holds the tower bell, which still rings to mark the hours, to celebrate the town anniversaries or to warn the population in case of emergencies.

 

Loggia della Repubblica

The municipal council room is supported by two large arches, that are part of the 14th-century Republic's arched loggia; this gallery originally crossed the whole town, from Porta Viale (to the east) to the Portello (to the west). This side of the ancient loggia is full of interesting historical traces: the tower base is closed by the original wooden prison door, while the iron ring on top of the vault was used until 1784 to hang prisoners from a rope as an act of torture. Some marble plaques on the wall of the loggia remind facts and personalities related to the city history:

• Giordano Bruno, an Italian friar, intellectual and cosmological theorist, who taught grammar and science to adults and children in Noli in the 16th century;

• Anton da Noli, the sailor who discovered the archipelago of Cape Verde, whose family came from Noli;

• Dante Alighieri, who mentioned Noli in the 4th Purgatory-Canto of “The Divine Comedy”;

• Cristoforo Colombo, who sailed from Noli on his voyage to Flanders;

• a Republican decree, dating back to 1620, which regulated the access of foreigners into town: they were obliged to leave their weapons before entering and they had to prove to have enough money to live on during their stay in town.