Description of the attraction
Arcades, or Covered Galleries, are perhaps the most graceful and beautiful street in Bolzano, which tourists never miss. Its official name is Via dei Portici, and it originates at the western end of Piazza del Municipio.
The arcades are not only the center of Bolzano's commercial life, but also one of the best shopping centers in the city. It is here that you will find an unbroken chain of elegant and modern shops with incredibly attractive windows. Particular attention should also be paid to the facades of the buildings - one of them is richly decorated with stucco with floral motifs in the Baroque style and is decorated with a characteristic bay window - wooden shutters.
As you know, Bolzano was founded around 1180. And its first street, Lauben Gasse, or Arcades Street, is still the pulsating center of a thriving commercial city. It stretches from east to west for 300 meters. On the north side, the houses with arcades adjoined the old city wall, demolished in 1277 by order of the Tyrolean Count Meinhard II. One could get to the street from both ends through the gate. From the very foundation of the city, traders sold fruits and vegetables in front of the Upper Gate, where the Fruit Market is located today.
Initially, the houses, built in the Romanesque style, had one floor and an arched stone portico in front of the entrance. Later, wooden floors could be built over the first floor, which was also built of stone. However, after several devastating fires, the upper floors were also built of stone. Today, the typical house, hidden behind the famous arcades, is only 4 yards wide, 50 meters deep and consists of a section facing the street and a central and rear section separated by an atrium. Presumably, all the houses on Via dei Portici were decorated with paintings or frescoes.
Tourists usually pay special attention to the building of the old City Hall, which housed the Bolzano municipality until 1906. It is distinguished by a Gothic pointed arch framed by sandstone and fragments of the original murals made around 1491 by Konrad Weider. Also worth noting is the arched passage of Casa Troilo, which originally served as direct access to Bolzano Cathedral.
