2. Piazza del Sole

Piazza del Sole, also known as Piazza a Porta Ticinese, was only built in a more recent era (18th century) probably because of the unpredictable behaviour of the river. In 1824 the “rivellino”, or outwork, was demolished and an archway in neo-classical style was built in its place. The latter was also raised to the ground around 1857.
The buildings which were erected in and around the square in the years that followed were demolished in the 1950s: the first to go was the so-called “isola”, or island, in the middle of the square (on the left in the picture), then the houses standing at the foot of the rock and, lastly, those standing on the southern perimeter of the square. The demolition of this last group of buildings revealed the section of town wall we can see today, a discovery which was as unexpected as it was welcome.

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