Decorated with archaeological fragments, the house is what is left of a fortified tower dating from the 12th century. It was built between 1040 and 1065 by the Crescenzi family to control over the ancient wharves of Rome (now hosting the Registry offices of the city) and the bridge where the powerful family collected the toll. 
Restored around 1940, it houses the Centro Studi per la Storia e l’Architettura. The long Latin inscription in Leonine verse on the arch of the door, comprising a piece of the moulding of a Roman round shrine, tells about Nicolò, son of Crescenzio and Teodoro who built the palace to “renovate the ancient dignity of Rome”.