For many centuries, the Italian Court was the centre of the state
economic power: it contained the
royal mint and was the residence of the king during his visits to
Kutná Hora silver mines. The history of the building reaches back to the late 13th century, when it served the function of a town castle: a safe storehouse of the
silver ore and an important part of the town fortifications. It was separated from the town itself by moats, which survive in the lower section as cellars; the water in the
moat also protected the castle from fires. Following the reform of the mints by
King Wenceslas II, all of the previously functioning coinage-works were situated in the Italian Court and coins of a unified value "the Prague groschen" began to be struck. During the 14th century the castle was completely rebuilt; although the greatest flourishing of the building activity came at the end of the century, under the reign of
Wenceslas IV. The reconstruction was done by the workshop of
Peter Parler, which was then completing the church of St. James and starting his work on
St Barbara's Church. The royal mint and the office of the supreme master minter came to an end in the 18th century after the great fire of 1770; the town hall was relocated into the Italian Court. ==Present==