 Local lords built great halls in the countryside, while rich merchants built grand town houses.In Italy, city councils constructed town halls, while wealthy cities of Northern Europe protected their trading interests with warehouses and commercial premises.All over Europe, dwellers of the town and country built houses to live in, some of which, sturdily constructed in stone, have remained to this day with sufficient of their form and details intact to give a picture of the style of domestic architecture that was in fashion at the time.