Palazzo d'Accursio, also known as Palazzo Comunale, has been the seat of the city council (Comune) since 1336! While today it’s mostly occupied by the offices, you can have access to the Municipal Art Collection and one of the best views of Piazza Maggiore from the Clock Tower(Torre dell’Orologio).

Did you know? Bologna has always been the city that valued freedom over everything. It began nurturing the idea of becoming autonomous as early as in the Xth century, and started their road to freedom after the death of Matilda of Tuscany, obtaining notable concessions from the Emperor. Despite Frederick’s Barbarossa attempts to conquer the city, Bologna established its full autonomy in 1183, becoming one of the most important commercial hubs in Northern Italy and one of the five most influential cities in Europe. But Bologna didn’t stop there - in 1256, Comune di Bologna promulgated a law text called Liber Paradisus. The text declared the abolition of slavery (609 years before it was abolished in the USA!) and the liberation of more than 5,000 slaves (out of the city’s 60,000 population). The main reason behind it? According to the text, that can be found in the city archives today, it was necessary to “break the chains of slavery” because “only free people can live in our city”. Bologna has always valued its freedom above all else - even the city’s coat of arms repeats the word “Libertas” twice! Those few official rulers that had dared to try and impose their rule on the city didn’t have a happy ending (we’ll talk about it later), and Bolognesiare still proud of this love for freedom.