Capitoline Square

This square was a hub of Aquileian life in the Middle Ages. Delimited by the imposing masses of the basilica, the baptistery and the bell tower, the square occupied the former site of the bishop’s palace and the four-sided portico from the post-Theodorian basilica to the north (from the second half of the 4th century). Its essential lines have been recreated in the recent renovation of the area (2008–9) using white stone slabs. In the mediaeval period, the uncovered square was smaller than what we see today. The eastern part, next to the bell tower, was used for many centuries as a burial ground. (The new out-of-town cemetery was built only in 1915.) The upper level opposite the baptistery contained other buildings, which may have been associated with the residence of the canons from the Aquileia Chapter.