Piazza Arringo

The piazza's name comes from the Middle Ages when Ascoli became a free comune and used this site for public meetings of the parliament, also known as arringhi, arenghi or arringhe: an assembly of citizens gathered to deliberate.

This became the most important center of public events and social life of the city, and several authors name it as the place of the ancient Roman forum of Ascoli.

Bartolini wrote: «cecidit ulmus maxima et antiquissima, quae stabat in arengho».

Among these it is worth mentioning that of 1462, made famous by the victory of the noble woman, Menichina Soderini, who beat Ludovico Malvezzi of Bologna in a horse riding competition.

In 1882 Nicola Cantalamessa made a sculpture of King Victor Emmanuel II which was placed in the piazza.