Trogir’s city loggia, built in the 13th century on the south-west corner of the main square, was perhaps the most important public location in town.

It multitasked as a meeting place for the city council, an open courtroom for various litigation processes, the official signing of documents and last will and testament readings, and as the town’s detention facility. As the latter it worked on a simple principle: those accused of theft were supposed to register at the loggia and remain there until they paid their debt, in money or otherwise.

The eastern wall of the loggia is decorated with a stone bass relief of a Venetian lion and the town’s patron saints Lawrence and the blessed John of Trogir. Beneath it stands a stone table, once used by the panel of judges while performing their duties.

The loggia was a bit of a men’s lair: women were not allowed to enter it even when they were called as witnesses in a legal case, with the commoners giving testimony at the Church of St. Mary and the women of aristocracy being questioned in their own residences.

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№27 of 27 places in Trogir
№2106 of 2178 places in Croatia
№5 of 5 Historic buildings in Trogir
№177 of 177 Historic buildings in Croatia