Piazza Maggiore is the main square of Bologna. It is surrounded by the most important buildings of the medieval city centre. The oldest is the 13th-century Palazzo del Podestà, which closes the square on the north side. It is dominated by the Torre dell'Arengo, to which the Palazzo Re Enzo was added.
The square is bordered to the west by the Palazzo d'Accursio (Palazzo Comunale), a majestic 14th-century building that now serves as the town hall. The same building also houses the Museo Morandi, in front of which is the Fountain of Neptune.
On the south side, opposite the Palazzo del Podestà, stands the unfinished façade of the Basilica of San Petronio, an example of Italian Gothic architecture begun at the end of the 14th century and only completed three centuries later.
On the eastern side is the Palazzo dei Banchi, actually a simple façade built between 1565 and 1568 on the model of Giacomo Barozzi to replace the more modest buildings that had previously stood there, albeit respecting the ancient streets that crossed it. The extended part of the portico at the Palazzo dei Banchi is the portico of the Archiginnasio, the medieval seat of the University of Bologna and one of the richest libraries in Italy and Europe.