Discover Piazza dei Frutti

The second of Padua's twin market squares, on the northern flank of Palazzo della Ragione, smaller and more enclosed than its twin. The great hall's arcaded base runs along one side; the others are lined with porticoed houses, so the square is almost entirely rimmed with covered walkway at ground level.

The square is defined by one building it does not contain: the long northern flank of the Palazzo della Ragione, whose ground-floor shops open onto it and whose bulk separates it from Piazza delle Erbe on the far side.

The remaining sides are arcaded houses of no single date, rebuilt piecemeal over centuries, which is why the square reads as workaday rather than composed.

At its centre stands the column known as il Peronio, topped by a stone that marked the standard measures traders were required to sell by -- market regulation as street furniture.