The building as it stands nowadays is the result of the incorporation of a number of different palazzi: the sixteenth-century Palazzo Moroni; the medieval Palazzo del Consiglio and Palazzo degli Anziani; the Moretti-Scarpari Wing (built in the period between the two world wars).
The majestic Renaissance building contains a raised courtyard which can be reached by a covered staircase (almost next to the entrance in Via del Municipio) or by the monumental staircase that links the palazzo to the upper levels of the medieval buildings and the Palazzo della Ragione. The facades giving onto Via del Municipio and Piazza della Erbe are in white marble with the crests of the various podestà. The two levels of the facades are separated by a balcony with wide round-arched windows divided by columns.
The Palazzo del Consiglio, which extends from the eastern corner of the complex and overlooks Piazza della Frutta, was the seat of the Cancelleria Pretoria [the Chancellory of the Podestà], It was built in the thirteenth century and the loggia has columns topped by Byzantine capitals, which were once commonly referred to as “the golden bowls” because of their shape.
The Palazzo degli Anziani [Palace of the Elders] includes the thirteenth-century Tower of the same name.This was formerly known as the White Tower to distinguish it from the Red Tower that rose above the Volto della Corda [Rope Vault] which linked Palazzo del Consiglio with Palazzo della Ragione.
The balcony, round-arched windows and columns of the Moretti-Scarpari Wing that overlooks Via VIII February echo the style of the Palazzo del Podestà; on the external walls one can see plaques commemorating those who died in the First World War, with the names of the fallen and lists of Italian victories.
