The north and east sides of Piazza Grande
are bounded by an L-shaped arcaded building which houses some
of the city council offices. The site is that occupied by the
seat of the medieval city government, which consisted of two separate
buildings that had grown up side by side, the city offices and
the law courts. From the square, no trace of these older structures
is now visible, since they were masked in the XVII Century by
the arcaded facade which combines the two original palazzi into
a single whole. High up on the end of this arcade, on the corner
overlooking via Castellaro, stands the statue known as the Bonissima,
another symbol dear to the hearts of the people of Modena; in
fact, local personalities well known to the town are said to be
"as famous as the Bonissima". The strange thing is
that no-one knows what the female figure represents; one theory
is that the name derives from the Ufficio della Bona Estima (later
contracted to Bonissima), or Weights and Measures Office, in front
of which the statue was placed in 1268 on a piece of marble supported
by four pillars carved with the standard measurements, as symbolic
guarantrix of fair measures. However, the popular imagination
prefers another explanation, involving a very rich lady known
as "Bona" or "Good", who spent generously
to help the poor.
Another trace of charitable care for
the people of Modena (if only those selling their wares in the
square) is the "Sala del fuoco" or "Fire
Room" inside the Palazzo Comunale; according to tradition,
the name derives from the fact that the fireplace still in the
room was used during the winter to produce hot embers which were
then transferred to the stallholders' braziers to help them bear
the cold conditions. As well as the large marble fireplace, the
room is also of interest to the visitor by reason of its coffered
ceiling and the paintings on the walls by Nicoḷ Dell'Abate
(1546) which show Brutus's siege of Modena in 44-43 B.C. in the
campaign against Mark Anthony. The pictorial decoration of this
and adjoining rooms reflects the city governors' efforts to support
the most solid civic virtues with strongly symbolic messages;
the classical theme of Nicoḷ Dell'Abate's sophisticated
Renaissance work is an opportunity to underline the greatness
of Modena's ancient "Municipium". Next door, in the
"Sala del Vecchio Consiglio", the old Council Chamber,
paintings illustrate other classical Greek and Roman themes, all
strictly related to civic virtues. The ceiling of this room,
already XVII Century in taste, offers the people of Modena examples
worthy of imitation, including Coriolanus allowing himself to
be persuaded not to attack Rome in the interest of his country,
and the Theban Menecius throwing himself from the walls of his
city in order to fulfil the prophecy that his sacrifice would
save Thebes. A century and a half separates decorations of the
Sala del Vecchio Consiglio, or Old Council Chamber (early XVII
Century) from those of the Sala degli Arazzi (Tapestry
Room), but the scenes portrayed are still intended to praise civic
virtues and the independent identity of city states. Three walls
illustrate the birth of city powers, with scenes of the treaty
of Constance (by which Frederick Barbarossa granted wide territorial
independence to the Italian city states) and of the heads of local
communities paying homage to the city ruler. In Modena, in the
two buildings which most clearly reflect civil and religious power
(the City Hall and the Cathedral, both overlooking Piazza Grande)
decorations are used to serve a dual purpose: they give the insides
and outsides of the walls solemn grandeur, while also using symbols
to instil civil and moral virtues in the citizen and the believer.