Cantelmo Ducal Palace

Built in 1350, the Palace has a quadrangular plan in Gothic style with two towers on the corners of the east side and a façade 5 metres high, adorned with a large pointed arch doorway and elegant mullioned windows with two lights on the main floor.

The history of the palace dates back to the times of the Cantelmo family, who inhabited it from 1359 until 1458, when they lost the lordship of Atina. The Palace was later owned by Ferdinand I of Aragon, the Count of Maddaloni, Diomede Carafa, who used it only occasionally, and finally by the Curia. In 1655, the hall was converted into a theatre and was completely renovated in 1786 and 1912, also becoming a cinema until 1939.

In 1700, the palace was abandoned and was used as the seat of the Masters of the Field and Ducal Lieutenants. In 1850, the Municipality of Atina proposed the purchase of the Palazzo, which took place in 1870, and it has been the seat of the Municipality ever since, although heavy modifications were made to its historical integrity. From 1870 to 1943, the Palazzo was used as a district prison and was damaged in the earthquake of 1915.

Seriously damaged by the War, the Palazzo was renovated in the period 1948-1993 according to the design of Engineer Cherubino Malpeli. The eastern part of the Palace is now home to the Municipal Archaeological Museum and the Municipal Library. On the main floor is an apsidal room, a palatine chapel dedicated to St. Onofrio, decorated with frescoes by 15th-century Campanian painters and a fresco from the second half of the 14th century.

In the reception hall, there is an impressive black and white Roman mosaic, discovered in Via Virilassi in 1946. The Ducal Palace still hosts exhibitions, conferences and cultural events and was last renovated in 2009.