An interesting example of late-Renaissance style construction, Palazzo Petrignani stands on the ancient Platea Major with its imposing façade. Here opens what was supposed to be the main entrance, never completed.

The palace was built in 1571, designed by the architect Ottaviano Mascarino, by order of Bartolomeo Petrignani, but completed thanks to the financing of his brother Fantino, who was archbishop of Cosenza, butler of Pope Gregory XIII, deputy legate of Bologna, nuncio to Naples and one of the protectors of the young Caravaggio.

The stylistic character of the frescoes and the sequence of internal decorations have led, for a long time, to attribute the pictorial works to the Zuccari school (Taddeo and Federico). However, the attribution to Tarquinio Racani, an Amerino painter who created frescoes in other palaces and churches in the city, seems more pertinent.