Via Argentieri Road, Silbergasse

Via Argentieri Road begins to the south-west of Piazza del Grano Square. It used to be the southern ditch that ran along the wall of the old Episcopal village. The Argentieri Road connects the piazza del Grano - Korn Platz square with the Fruit and Vegetable Market square. It is one of the most interesting and popular streets in Bolzano's medieval centre.

The street's name (German: Silbergasse) has nothing to do with the silver and it has never accommodated silversmiths' or goldsmiths' workshops, they were situated in the nearby Goethe Strasse which was called the Schustergasse (Cobblers Street). The name derived from a building called the Silberhaus or "House of Silver" situated on the corner between the Piazza del Grano - Kornplatz square and the Silbergasse. It is uncertain how the house got its name.

Around 1100 the street was the medieval town's moat and the house facades facing north are the town's oldest, forming the rear of the houses lining the Laubengasse or Arcaded Street, with which they are still connected by passageways.

Today in the Argentieri Road - Silbergasse there are shops, restaurants, eateries and wine bars.

On the right side is the Baroque structure of the Mercantile Palace with wide steps leading to the entrance. Today is opened to visitors as the Mercantile Museum.

Casa Troilo

Slightly further on from the Mercantile Palace, still on the same side of the street, is the Casa Troilo (circa 1603) with corner pillars and an interior passageway that joins Via Argentieri with the Arcades (a stone door with a coat of arms).