The square's importance derives not only from its location in the urban fabric of ancient and present-day Asti, but from the role it has played over the centuries: it was the market square, in a city whose wealth was based on merchants and bankers. The square is surrounded by some of Asti's most important buildings, which open to the square through long, characteristic arcades that now house many businesses. The two most important buildings overlooking the square are certainly the Collegiate Church of Sant'Anastasio and the Palazzo Podestà, now the seat of the Town Hall.
