Alghero, Civic Palace

The building occupies an important space because it overlooks two of the main squares of the historic center, still today the headquarters of cultural events, a short distance from the walls and the Porta a Mare.
It currently houses various offices, including the Municipal Tourism Office, and recreational activities, such as the Circolo dei Marinai. It is also the headquarters of the Municipal Historical Archive of Alghero.
The building, built in the first half of the 19th century, stopped performing the function of Palazzo Civico when the new headquarters were built, in the town of Sant'Anna, in the second half of the twentieth century. The building overlooks two squares: the main façade overlooks the Piazza del Comune, the secondary one instead on the Piazza Civica.
The main façade emerges in the context of the Piazza del Comune due to its monumentality and the elegance of its neoclassical forms. Made of square sandstone ashlars, it is surmounted by a serrated overhanging ledge framed by a tall granite plinth, which contrasts with the clear tones of the sandstone and enlivens the façade. The pilasters that frame the portal are also made of granite, on which an lintel decorated with metopes and triglyphs rests. The wooden portal, framed by small sandstone ashlars, leads to a barrel-vaulted atrium, whose vault is decorated with frescoes with geometric and floral motifs, following the construction of the building. The atrium, illuminated by a large oculus that overlooks the lintel, contains the monumental single-ramp staircase that allows access to the interiors.

History of studies
The building is included in the main works on Alghero architecture.

Bibliography
S. Colomo, Guide to Alghero and Surrounding Areas, Sassari, 1984;
A. Ingegno, The historic center of Alghero: notes for research, Oristano, 1996.

How to get
There From the port, they walk along the walls to Piazza Porta Terra. Then turn north into Via Columbano, on which the building overlooks, at the point where the road widens into the Piazza del Comune.