Among the buildings of the city centre, two villas of public property distinguish themselves, even thank to restoration work: the Appiani Villa, seat of the city-hall and the eighteenth-century Crivelli Villa, seat of the public Library. A complex of buildings defines a wide courtyard. Farmer’s house to the north, stables and barns to the south, rustico with lavatories, storerooms, the furnace for bread, the storage for tools in the two lateral wings. Life of these families was mainly carried out in the courtyard, place of work and meeting, while rooms, often dank and dark, gave shelter only in the night or in the coldest days.
