Piazza della Liberta

Piazza della Liberta is where the world's oldest republic does its ceremony: the neo-Gothic Palazzo Pubblico - the public palace where the Captains Regent, the twin heads of state elected every six months, are installed with full pageantry - faces a marble Statue of Liberty predating New York's, with the plains of Romagna falling away behind the parapet to the Adriatic on clear days. In summer the Guard of the Rock changes on the half hour in green-and-red uniforms, a compact ritual that delights everyone, and the palace interior opens its council hall to visitors.

What you actually see

• Palazzo Pubblico - the council hall and the seat of the Captains Regent.
• The changing of the guard - summer half-hourly ceremony in full uniform.
• The Liberty statue - the republic's own Statua della Liberta of 1876.
• The parapet view - Romagna and the Adriatic beyond the square's edge.

When to go

April to October for the guard ceremony and terrace weather; the installation of the Captains Regent on 1 April and 1 October is the republic's full ceremonial at its grandest. Mornings beat the coach crowds that fill the square by midday in summer.

Honest expectations

The square is small and shared with every visitor on the mountain - by noon in August it is shoulder to shoulder. The guard change is charming and brief; manage expectations against Buckingham Palace scale. The palace interior is a quick visit. Clear-day visibility to the sea is a lottery worth checking from the webcams before promising it to companions.

Nearby

The three towers, the basilica of the saint and the old town gates.