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Piazza della Sala is one of the oldest squares in the city. Its name dates back to Longobard times stating the name of the public administration building. In fact, in this square the palace of the governor, a representative of the king, was built. There are no remains of this building. It is preserved by the name of the Baptistery, named in Corte, built in the surroundings of curtis domini Regis. Even the road, which connected the Sala to the door of St. Peter, the current streets named Stracceria and della Torre, were called Regis.
During period of communes, with the construction of the Palazzo degli Anziani, the political centre of the city moved to piazza del Duomo and the Sala became the trade and commerce centre. Here the food market was developed, and merchants and artisans later followed. In memory of this historical market, streets were named according to the activities that took place: via del Cacio (a famous cheese), sdrucciolo dei Cippolini (small onions), via dei Fabbri (blacksmiths), via degli Orafi (goldsmiths), via del Lastrone, which takes its name from the giant piece of marble from which they sold fish, and piazza degli Ortaggi (vegetables).