Old Market Square

The Courtyard of the Old Market is an open-air urban masterpiece nestled in the heart of ancient Verona, a captivating place where Scaliger and Venetian architectures merge.

The courtyard, since its origins, hosted the market where goods destined for the poor were sold, and it is precisely for this reason that it is called “Courtyard of the Old Market.”
Even before becoming the old market, the area was officially designated for grain trading.

This small, almost hidden space reveals a great treasure: the Palazzo della Ragione, now home to the Achille Forti Modern Art Gallery, and the majestic Scala della Ragione, a fifteenth-century structure that connects the Courtyard of the Old Market with the grand portal that leads to the noble floor of the palace.

The staircase features a late-Venetian Gothic style with steps and balustrades entirely made of red Verona marble and also boasted a highly symbolic function: the staircase led directly to the Court located on the noble floor; those who ascended those steps solemnly entered the place where justice was exercised on behalf of the Most Serene Republic.