In the 16th century, when the original residential nucleus began to extend to the foot of the Castle Hill, this area, around which a few scattered houses already stood, was largely occupied by a meadow, which gave rise to the Slovenian name Travnik, which was long used to refer to the square.

During the 18th century, following the construction of the Jesuit complex of Sant'Ignazio, which had encouraged the city's development westward toward the Corno River and northward along the road to Carinthia, this area underwent a series of urban redevelopment projects that gave it the new name of "Piazza Grande." The monumental Neptune Fountain, built in 1756 by the sculptor Marco Chiereghin based on a design by Nicolò Pacassi, the Gorizia architect who designed Schönbrunn Palace, dates back to this period.

Among the oldest buildings overlooking the square is the 16th-century palace built by the Della Torre counts. Having undergone numerous renovations, during the Habsburg era it became the Palace of the Provincial Captain, the representative of the central government appointed directly by the emperor. After Gorizia's transfer to Italy, when the square had taken the new name "della Vittoria," the building was used as the Prefecture, a function it still retains today. The final redevelopment of the surrounding area, with the demolition of several buildings adjacent to the Prefecture, the opening of the new Via Roma, and the construction of the INPS building next to the church of Sant'Ignazio, dates back to an urban renewal project carried out during the 1930s.