The Sponza Palace is a 16th-century palace in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The rectangular building with an inner courtyard was built in a mixed Gothic and Renaissance style between 1516 and 1522 by Paskoje MiliÃÂeviÃâ¡ Mihov. The loggia and sculptures were crafted by the brothers AndrijiÃâ¡ and other stonecutters. The palace has served a variety of public functions, including as a customs office and bonded warehouse, mint, armoury, treasury, bank and school. It became the cultural center of the Republic of Ragusa with the establishment of the Academia dei Concordi, a literary academy, in the 16th century. It survived the 1667 earthquake without damage. The palace`s atrium served as a trading center and business meetingplace. An inscription on an arch testifies to this public function: Fallere nostra vetant et falli pondera. Meque pondero merces ponderat ipse deus. `Our weights do not permit cheating. When I measure goods, God measures with me.`
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