PIAZZA DEL POPOLO

Surrounded by the 12th-century Romanesque-Gothic duomo and magnificent palaces, the Piazza del Popolo has the perfect harmony of medieval squares (you'll note, particularly well preserved). Opposite the cathedral, on the opposite side of the square, stands the Palazzo dei Priori (Priors ' Palace), completed in the 14th century, surmounted by Guelph battlements and flanked by a robust trapezoidal tower. Side by side, the splendid Palazzo del Popolo (People's Palace), now the Town Hall, was built in 1214, making it probably one of the oldest in the peninsula, and the Palazzo del Capitano (Captain's Palace), built in 1290 in Italian Gothic style.

Under the cobblestones, traces of the Roman forum remain, as well as imposing cisterns. The highest point of the ancient city of Todi, visible for miles around, this square is the pride of the inhabitants. The square is also completely flat, due to a system of cisterns built in Roman times to support the forum area, the public square of the ancient centre of Todi, which was even larger than the present medieval square. These Roman cisterns, which supplied the hill with water, can be discovered today through an underground tour that will lead you to contemplate the dense network of wells, galleries and cisterns from different periods. Note: Piazza del Popolo is also sometimes called Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, and even Piazza Garibaldi.