The administrative center of the city during the Middle Ages, the Piazza Mercanti offers visitors a glimpse of Medieval life in Milan. The square is smaller now – the 13th-century Broletto Nuovo that once stood at the center of the piazza now marks the square’s northeast boundary – but the buildings look much as they did centuries ago. On the southeastern side is the Loggia degli Osii where the city’s authorities once addressed the populace from the structure’s balconies. During the winter holidays, the square is turned into a lively Christmas market.