The Gottifredo Palace is a large medieval house in Alatri in the Lazio Region of Italy. It lies at the confluence of the main streets of Alatri at the time of the palace's construction: the first, coming from the north city gate of San Pietro; the second, from west, arrives from the ancient Via San Francesco which passes through the gate of the same name; the third from gate St Nicholas, to the east. Both the size of the palace and the morphology of the interior spaces suggest that Cardinal Gottifredo di Raynaldo, ordered its construction, and wanted several functions: defence, government and entertainment. Since 1932, the oldest part of the palace, which corresponds to the tower facing the intersection of the three streets— in Alatri known as the Trivio (crossroads)— has housed the City Museum. Design and construction of the building The entire monument has a central part (slightly curved to follow the line of the street) on which lies the principal door (with a pointed arch and double moulding) and two towers, one on the crossroads and the other on the opposite side. The Palace was designed in the 13th century. Constructuction is assigned between 1229, when Gottifredo was Canon of the local Cathedral, and 1286, a year before his death, when was appointed Podesta of the town. The construction The first tower on the crossroads is Romanesque in style and anterior to the central part of the building. Starting from the first tower the entire palace was completed in a second phase, following the model of the medieval tower house. The house had an inner porch and was a multifunctional structure given that its surface has both small windows (for defence) and large mullioned windows (for halls and dwelling rooms). Later, during a third building phase, the multivalent function of the palace was stressed. On the ground floor there were the stables, on the first floor the home of the Cardinal and on the third floor a large Assembly Hall covered by a roof supported by three stately pointed stone arches typical of Gothic architecture. From the Government of Gottifredo to the earthquake of 1349 The Gottifredo Palace was the centre of local politics and was a symbol of stability. The season of its full functionality and magnificence, however, did not last long. The death of Gottifredo left a vacuum of power that was followed up in