Red Hall

The so-called Red Hall whose name originates from the colour of the tapestry this hall has recently been coated, was part of the quarters belonging to the city Senate during the “Ancient Regime”. The city Senate was the political local representative body that ruled together with the Legate Cardinal appointed by the Pope. Actually at the end of ‘500 it was a representative hall where the most important meetings of the Senate were held while the chambers overlooking the corridor over the Neptune’s Square were used as Secretaries, treasury rooms and accounting departments.

The today lobby, the Press Office and the other overlooking chambers were “Assunterie” chambers (chambers where Senate commissions dealing with special Government branches were held). In 1677 the major hall for the meetings of the Senate was moved to the wing overlooking “Piazza Maggiore” (the Main Square) and thus giving place to the current “Sala del Consiglio Comunale”(Town Council Hall). In the Red Hall the “Pallione della Peste” ("Plague Processional Banner") was hanging: a painting on silk by Guido Reni - preserved today in the Picture Gallery. Such painting was carried out in 1631 in order to celebrate the end of the epidemic. Every year the banner was carried during the procession proceeding from “Palazzo Comunale” (Town Hall) as far as San Domenico’s Basilica where the pillar of the “Madonna del Rosario” (Madonna of Rosary) in the churchyard of the Basilica was the other public celebrating point where the help of Mary was invoked in order to stop the plague burst.

The present settlement of the Red Hall traces back to the half of the XIX century and its Empire style is due to the big chandeliers out of Bohemian crystal (they were said to be the wedding present of Napoleon to his sister Elisa Baciocchi) to the decorations of the barrel arch by Luigi Samoggia (decorator) and by Luigi Busi (designer). Recently it has been restored by maintaining its peculiarities.