The courtyard, from the outset, was home to the market where food for the poor was sold and it is precisely this is why it is known as the “Old Market Courtyard”. Under the Venetian Repubic, the Palazzo di Cortile Mercato Vecchio lost its defensive function and increasingly took on administrative and commercial roles.
The majestic Palazzo della Ragione, in fact, acted as the Town Hall and for some considerable time also housed the Magistrates’ Court and the Court of Assizes. The Scala della Ragione in Veronese red marble connects the Old Market Courtyard with the baronial floor of the building.