Built by the Duke of Popoli, Giovanni Cantelmo , between 1333 and 1337, it is a rare example of medieval civil architecture in Abruzzo. The external façade is especially admirable, executed in squared limestone blocks up to the string course and characterized by mullioned windows, the pointed portal and the sequence of coats of arms showing heraldic elements relating to the Angevins, the Cantelmo and other families linked to the lords of Popoli, alternating with other bas-relief coats of arms with fantastic figures.
While highlighting the typical structure of the house shop , it was used for the collection and deposit of tithes, as a sort of bank branch linked to the thriving economy of transhumance. Later it became " Taberna " for the possibility given to travelers to eat and stay overnight. Today it houses a small Antiquarium , which exhibits a collection of stone materials from the neighboring area. Among the artifacts, two headless statues from the Roman era in limestone stand out, a pagan altar from the 1st century. AD, a fragment of an epigraph from the 1st century. A.D; a limestone stele, datable between the 1st and 2nd centuries. A.D. Also exhibited are a 16th century column adorned with an Ionic capital with underlying anthropomorphic figure and phytomorphic motifs, two corbels and an inscription from 1519, relating to the Giovannella Carafa wool mill, coming from the adjacent Palazzo Forniti and two bas-reliefs, dating back to the 16th century. and respectively depicting the Almighty and the Announcing Angel, which shows in the sinuous shape and in the drapery all the elegance of its workmanship.
The palace, located in the historic center of a city with a tourist vocation, adjacent to the naturalistic area of the springs of the Pescara river and the archaeological and monumental area of Corfinio, also hosts temporary exhibitions and events and is a place for active and participatory visits, open to all types of users and uses.
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Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 13 (taverna ducale), Popoli, Italy