Piazza del Popolo, Ascoli Piceno, Province of Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy

Piazza del Popolo
A real jewel in the heart of a city, it is surrounded by monuments and a covered colonnade; rising on the site of the ancient Roman Forum, which was placed at the crossroads of the two main Roman streets, the cardus (Via del Trivio) and decumanus (Corso Mazzini), it has been since time immemorial the heart of the political and social life and events of Ascoli. The colonnades were added to the square in 1507, demolishing the pre-existent houses, and the owners then reconstructed their apartments over the colonnades, on one floor and with the typical Renaissance lunette window. The project was ordered by the Pope's governor de' Ranieri, on a design by Lombard architect Pietro da Carona.

The Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo
In December 1535 a group of rioters took refuge in the palace, and the Pope's commissioner ordered the palace to be set on fire, destroying an invaluable archive of documents. Soon after a renovation of the facade added the wonderfully sculpted portal, a monument to Paul III who had suppressed the revolt and brought back peace to Ascoli, and a huge stone clock. The portal leads into the Renaissance courtyard, surrounded by arcades and lodges, a design of architect Camillo Merli.
A visit to the palace offers an insight into the different layers of the construction, from the republican era of Rome, to the empire, to the medieval period and finally the Renaissance project.
The Church of San Francesco
The facade is in the Romanesque style, with 3 magnificent Gothic portals, decorated with statues and flower motifs. Over the portal is a monument to Julius II, the pope who freed Ascoli from the Guiderocchi tyranny. The inside is divided into 3 naves by five octagonal pillars on each side, that lead to the 3 apses of the majestic presbyterium. In the left nave is the mysterious wooden crucifix which was once in the Palazzo dei Capitani, and was miracuously spared in the 1535 fire, and which twice is recorded to have spilled blood.
The Sacristy preserves works of great artistic value: furniture of the 18th century, paintings of artists who stayed in Ascoli during their lives, a Reliquary of the 14th century in wrought copper, donated to the Church by Pope Nicholas IV.

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