Palazzo Assessorile

Palazzo Assessorile is already mentioned in documents of 1356, when the lord of Mechel Iosio di Enrico di Sant'Ippolito bought a house-tower with surrounding walls. This is the original structure of the building: the tower was built in stone over ancient archaeological traces around 1200, and it was provided with embrasures. In the beginning the tower was used as a storage for foodstuffs.
Seriously injured by the peasants revolts of the XV^th century (1407 and 1477), the house-tower passed to the noble family de Cles, which transformed it into the seat of the Capitano delle Valli del Noce (Captain of the Noce Valleys). With this works the tower was absorbed into the current structure, and the façade was decorated with a fresco representingthe coat of arms of the deCles (two red and silver rampant lions), dated 1484.

In 1538 the Prince-bishop and Cardinal Bernardo Clesio bequeathed the Palazzo to his favourite niece Ildebrando, knight and noble of the empire, captain of the Noce valleys and from 1529 husband of Anna Wolkenstein. To these owners are owe the Reinassance decorations that characterise the Palazzo rooms.
During the XVII^th century the Palazzo passed for a brief moment to the family Thun, which ceded it to the Magnifica Comunità of Cles the 30 of Dicember 1677.

From this moment on the Palazzo took on administrative and judiciary functions, as testifies the sign on the stone above the 1679 gothic gate. From these tasks derives the name “Assessorile”.

During the Napoleonic era, more precisely in 1814, the third floor was assigned the function of jail until 1975.

During the last century, Palazzo Assessorile lost its old functions and became initally seat of the town hall and council, later place for conferences and art exhibits.