The Piazza San Pellegrino is the central square in the Pellegrino district of Viterbo. There are a number of interesting buildings in this square, the most famous one being the Palazzo degli Alessandri.
Piazza San Pellegrino Viterbo
History and description
The Piazza San Pellegrino is an extremely picturesque square, with arches, columns, towers and historic buildings from the Middle Ages on all sides.
The towers were built by the city’s most important families and the higher a tower was, the more status the family had.
The most beautiful building in the square is the Palazzo degli Alessandri, which is actually an amalgamation of several buildings. and named after one of these influential families. Sometimes families fell into disfavor, and were banished from the city, which also happened once to the Alessandri. Usually the palaces of these families were then razed to the ground, but in this case it was none other than the Pope who ordered the building to remain standing. Today the Palazzo degli Alessandri is used for exhibitions and conferences.
There are two towers, the Torre Alessandri and the Torre Scacciaricci, at the rear of the building.