In Renaissance Italy, the political power of authorities found one of its expressions in material symbols of sovereignty. The placing of inscriptions, sculptures and columns and the commissioning of frescoes in streets, piazzas and public spaces, for example, were essential ways of communicating political or spiritual authority to the populace. Sometimes perceived as representations of top-down communication, in the urban context these same material emblems of power became political objects through which to express dissent, as seen in the case of public loggias, speaking statues or graffiti on walls and civic palaces. This article presents case-studies from various cities in northern Italy, investigating the dynamics between the people and the authorities in the urban fabric, especially in everyday life. A spatial and material approach to politics reveals the complex and relational nature of political public spaces.