A harmonious and imposing building dominating Terra del Sole from its central position, Palazzo Pretorio was the residence of the Captains of Justice and General Commissioners in charge of the province of Florentine Romagna and of the Civil and Criminal Court of first instance, from 1579 to 1772. Many of the Court’s documents are preserved in the Municipal Historical Archive in the Governor’s Palace in Terra del Sole. With a quadrangular plan, 40 metres per side, the Palace is a classic example of Renaissance architecture, built in local stone with elements of pietra serena and terracotta. The façade and loggias are decorated with numerous coats of arms, sculpted or painted, of the Captains and Commissioners sent by the Florentines. The ground floor housed the Chancellor’s Room and the Criminal Courtroom, richly frescoed with the coats of arms of the Grand Ducal Commissioners who ruled over the Tuscan-Romagna province for over two centuries. The inner courtyard is bounded by a triporticus with two orders, Doric and Ionic, linked by a denticulated brick cornice. At the centre of the courtyard stands a magnificent well, with a terracotta arch from which one can admire a singular perspective framing: in fact the arch of the well, the entrance to the Palace and the door of the Church of Santa Reparata are in perfect alignment. Of great interest is the spiral staircase in a double helicoid of the Leonardesque school, which leads to the criminal and public prisons, where there are still writings, painted drawings and graffiti of the condemned. The upper floor houses the Museum of Man and the Environment, which traces the origin and development of the fortress-city of Terra del Sole, the movements, settlements and lifestyle of the ancient people who inhabited these hills from the Palaeolithic to the fall of the Roman Empire. The palace is also home to the Pro Loco of Terra del Sole.
