Known to the people of Ivrea as Piazza Maretta, a name deeply embedded in the city’s collective memory, the square lies just beyond Via Arduino, in the San Domenico district, immediately outside the ancient city walls.
The lively heart of a traditionally working-class neighbourhood, the square assumed its present form during the nineteenth century, when Ivrea expanded beyond its medieval core. Officially dedicated to Vincenzo Gioberti, the philosopher and leading figure of the Italian Risorgimento, it became an important link between the historic centre and the city’s newer districts. Above all, it remains a place where local traditions are proudly preserved. Every year it hosts the Fagiolata Benefica del Castellazzo, an age-old Carnival tradition in which beans are prepared and shared with the community—a deeply cherished event that embodies the spirit of Ivrea’s Carnival.
The writer Salvator Gotta, a native of Montalto Dora, left a vivid portrait of the San Domenico district and its popular character:
“The oldest neighborhood and at the same time the poorest in the city; damp, narrow lanes roughly paved with cobblestones; centuries-old shops belonging to small haberdashers, hemp merchants and clog makers; tall and low houses, worn with age, their dark doorways like caves, their decorated yet weathered walls blooming with clusters of capers; balconies and little balconies with wrought-iron grilles and rounded railings; crooked, uneven rooftops pierced by bright terraces against the sky, or sloping and dripping over courtyards as dark as wells.”
One of the district’s landmarks is the nearby Church of San Maurizio, also known as the Church of San Domenico or the Church of the Friars. Located at the top of Via Arduino, it dates back at least to the fourteenth century. In the sixteenth century it passed to the Dominican Order, which rebuilt it entirely in 1604. In 1773, the church vault collapsed, making a comprehensive reconstruction necessary and giving the building the appearance it retains today. From 1930 until 1986, the church was entrusted to the Franciscan friars, after which the parish was merged with that of the Cathedral. For this reason, although the façade was once entirely covered with frescoes, its niches now house the statues of Saint Dominic and Saint Francis.
