Town Palace

The bell tower with a clock was already there in the 15th century, to the right of the façade of San Nicola church. Due to some subsidence, it was decided to rebuild it on the upper façade of the square. Work began in 1733 and the required funds came mainly from the proceeds of the tax of “one quarter coin per pound of cocoon silk” that had been charged on the silk market since 1726, an inexhaustible source of local wealth.

In 1734, following some delays in the work, Domenico Farfogli, an expert from Forlì, was invited to Meldola to design and supervise the new work on the clock.
At the same time, they decided to modify the project, in order to strengthen the tower, they needed to erect a solid building next to it, looking for “public spaces that are so necessary for this community”.

The restoration of the tower and part of the annexes was completed in 1737, when the Borghese-Pamphili palace was already in place. The Tower was completed in 1738, with the installation of the clock and bell, re-made from the Tower of San Nicolò.

It was decided to purchase a plot of land with a house to the left of the new building after the tower and part of the palace, including the present Council Chamber where the first meeting was held in 1746, had been completed. Once the purchase was made, work began in 1770 and was completed in December 1772.

Originally, access to the first floor was via a small staircase built inside the tower. The access staircase, visible on the left, was designed by the municipal engineer Pietro Buda as a functional link between the 18th-century building and the extension he designed in 1862.

The new project, designed by the municipal engineer Pietro Buda and approved on 3 May 1862, consisted of a main building with a portico on the ground floor […] and on the upper floor the town hall, the magistrate and the magistral deputy.

The project was awarded to the Brunelli-Serrantoni company of Cesena on 15 February 1863. In 1868, the entire building and furniture were given to the city.
Decorative works were planned inside the Residence and the Foro Annonario, but they were not completed due to a lack of funds. Today it is possible to see the work carried out by the painter and decorator Luigi Scardovi on the ceilings of some of the rooms on the first floor of the palace, with perspective views of some of the places and monuments of Meldola.