Italy Guide
The Veneto
Piazza delle Erbe
Originally a major Roman crossroads and the site of the forum, Piazza delle Erbe is still the heart of the city. As the name suggests, the market used to sell mainly vegetables, but nowadays it has been largely taken over by ugly, semi-permanent booths selling clothes, souvenirs, antiques and fast food. The rich variety of buildings framing the square is far more attractive. Most striking are the Domus Mercatorum (on the left as you look from Via Cappello), which was founded in 1301 as a merchants' warehouse and exchange, the fourteenth-century Torre del Gardello and, to the right of the tower, the Casa Mazzanti, whose sixteenth-century murals are best seen after dark, under enhancing spotlights.