Palazzo Comunale, called “Il Gotico”, dominates the central square of the city, Piazza Cavalli. It was built in 1281 upon request of Alberto Scoto, chief merchant and master of the city.
Local masons built the palace, though probably also people from Como worked towards its completion. It presents an ogival style typical of Lombardy, with its arched decoration on the walls, the crenellation resembling a swallow’s tail, the central tower and two small towers on the sides, il Gotico is an example of civil Medieval architecture.
Resting on a marble basis, opened by a gothic loggia with lancet arches, there is the first floor with Romanesque shapes, with round arches enclosing slender decorated mullioned windows with three lights. The contrast between the pink marble of the lower floor and the decorated bricks with geometrical shapes of the upper windows creates an effect of unbelievable elegance. A Virgin with Child, from the 13th century, once in a niche on the main façade, is now preserved at the Civic Museum and has been substituted by a copy.
