Strada Maggiore was already a crucial organisational artery for the city at the end of the Roman period, but it was in the Middle Ages that it became a “mirror” of the urban magnificence of the portico on both sides of the street.

Documentary sources describe it as the “noble” road par excellence thanks to its concentration of stately residences, and as a “triumphal” road due to its role as the "via papalis"; even today a high social tone is perceptible along the entire street.

Throughout its long history, the city has grown along this traffic artery and, therefore, Strada Maggiore presents many episodes of exceptional architectural originality of the portico from the Middle Ages up to the modern age, all testament to its unique history. These include the portico of Casa Isolani, probably the oldest medieval portico still existing in a European city; the portico and the quadruple portico of the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi; and the so-called portico of the Alemanni, the first example of a covered walkway outside the city walls.