Town Hall of Acquapendente and Piazza G. Fabrizio

The square is named after Girolamo Fabrici d’Acquapendente, born in the town in 1533 to a noble family. At the age of 17, he moved to Padua to study medicine and became a great anatomist. Tito Sarrocchi immortalised him in a splendid statue placed in the centre of the square, where he is depicted with his head tilted slightly forward, almost as if he were caught in the act of explaining his discoveries. In one hand he is wielding his surgeon's knives, while with the other he is leaning on a pedestal on which his books are resting.

The Town Hall, built in the decades following the unification of Italy, in the area where the old palazzo stood, is an imposing palace in neoclassical style, designed by Guglielmo Meluzzi. The palace's current appearance dates back to work completed in 1884, carried out by the Viterbo builder, Grandori under the direction of architect Meluzzi. The previous structure, demolished in 1877, was characterised by a bell tower higher than the body of the palace, equipped with a clock and bells.

The neoclassical palace is imposing with respect to the size of the square. The ground floor is characterised by a portico with twelve façade pillars and eleven connecting arches. Above the cornice framing the portico are two orders of windows corresponding to the two floors of the building. At the top, the building is crowned by a large clock framed by the coats of arms of the Municipality of Acquapendente. Access to the palace is via a monumental staircase leading to the mezzanine floors. Particularly striking is the first floor, where a large corridor overlooks the façade windows, with all the rooms opening onto this corridor.

The square is overlooked by a number of buildings adorned with basalt portals and dating back to the 16th century: Palazzo Petrucci-Piccioni, Palazzo Benci-Caterini and Palazzo Savini-Costantini, opposite, to the right and left of the Town Hall, respectively. Piazza G. Fabrizio, together with the adjoining Piazza G. Oberdan, Corso Taurelli Salimbeni, Piazza N. Sauro and the two small squares of the Rigombo and Rugarella fountains, delineate a sequence of spaces that defines an original and elegant urban design.