PALAZZO PRETORIO

A civic building from the 14th century with a clock from the first half of the 1700s made by Bishop Adriano Stellini in the area of Panicale, in Umbria. The clock strikes a bell bearing a Latin inscription: “Ricciardus florentinus me fecit Anno Domini MCCCXXXIX. Ave Maria grazia plena Dominus tecum”. The Palazzo was restored in the 1980s by the Municipality of Torrita di Siena. It was the centre for local administration, responsible for managing the rules and regulations governing the citizens of Montefollonico and remained so until the beginning of the 18th Century. It was strictly forbidden to remain stationary outside the building during a meeting of the Council so as to avoid eavesdropping and news creeping out before being officially announced.