Piazza Lega Lombarda is now a large area converted into a public garden, which opens out behind the Palazzo del Capitano, within which there is a passageway that connects it to Piazza Sordello, where Passerino Bonacolsi, Lord of Mantua, sought shelter when on 16 August 1328 the Gonzaga family took power. Busts of illustrious locals are scattered among the flowerbeds.
It was once an area within the Doge's Palace intended for service activities. It is called Piazza Pallone by the people of Mantua, because in the past it was a place used for ball games; the new name was only given to it in 1876, but in the past it was also called Piazza del Giardino and Piazza della Curia.
A plaque on the wall on the left recalls the legend when in 1391 the lovers Agnese Visconti, wife of Francesco I Gonzaga, and the knight Antonio da Scandiano were murdered and buried here because they were considered guilty of adultery against the Mantuan leader.