Standing at the Post Office building and looking towards the Piazza grande, on our right, we see the characteristic curvy line of the porticos centered on top of the Torre Comunale (Municipal tower). The tower, with its clock, was built in the 14th century. If you turn towards the hill you will instead notice the Cardada cableway with the terminus station designed by architect Mario Botta: a natural park that is certainly worth a visit.
On our left, towards the New Neighborhood, you can see the Palazzo della Sopracenerina.
Locarno's Piazza Grande is the heart of the city and is distinguished by a 700 meter-long succession of harmonious porticos built in Lombard architectural style, which host numerous businesses and restaurants. Old palaces face the piazza that is particularly animated in the summer during the "Moon & Stars" music festival and the Locarno Festival.
The Piazza Grande, heart of the town, is surrounded by buildings that still retain some of the characteristics of the townhouses of past centuries. They are decorated with columns, arcades, windows and porches, witnesses of the town’s bourgeoisie development; they survived the renewal of the townscape in the 20th century.
The Piazza Grande developed throughout the centuries, following the recession of the lake’s shore. In the past the lake used to reach the houses that, today, surround the Piazza. The characteristic cobblestone, built with river pebbles, is dated 1825. In the same period, throughout the 19th century and at the start of the 20th, the piazza gradually took on its current appearance with the construction of the Palazzo del Governo (today’s Sopracenerina), of the public gardens and theater.
From the piazza you can also see the medieval Torre del Comune (the Municipal Tower), which used to be part of the ancient fortifications built by the Visconti to defend the hamlet. It is a five-story stone tower. The story goes that it was used as a prison and was connected to the castle through underground passages: this has however never been confirmed. In proximity to the tower there is a small piazza which, stretching uphill with its longitudinal paths, used to guarantee access to the houses even when the lake flooded the piazza.
