The palace, situated more than one hundred meters above the town, overlooks the coast of Vasto, like a monolith of white squared stone. Located behind the Cathedral and on the edge between the two parts of the old town, the Roman settlement and the Medieval township, the palace was founded by the military leader and lord of Vasto Giacomo Caldora, probably in the Twenties of the fifteenth century. Not much remains of the original aspect: the overall plan, centered on a wide central yard and few traces of the external walls. Nevertheless the extant mullioned window with two lights and the remains of the portal attest fairly well the elegance of the architectural and decorative arrays. When the Guevara family ascended the power in the town, they probably completed the construction of the palace, especially on the side facing the sea. In 1496 the town fell into the hand of the D'Avalos, who used the palace for more than three centuries as their residence and made of it the seat of the town authorities. In 1566 the Turks invaded Vasto, sacked the town and damaged the palace, taking advantage of the absence of the Marquis Francesco Ferdinando, who had moved to Palermo after being appointed as viceroy of Sicily. His wife, Isabella Gonzaga, daughter of the Duke of Mantova, after her husband's death, ordered the reinforcement and reconstruction of the building, which started in 1573 and did not end before the beginning of the following century. Nonetheless the golden age of the palace was the eighteenth century. The new owners, the family Lante della Rovere, enriched the rooms and made of the palace the seat of a little but lively court. At the time of the French invasion, a period of decay started for the fortress and during the nineteenth century some rooms were demolished or employed for different uses. As from the Sixties of the twentieth century a gradual revival began for D'Avalos Palace, which is today the seat archaeological and art cllections. The municipal art collection is situated in the eastern and southern rooms of the first floor of D'Avalos Palace and contains works byDonnini, Moccioli, Michetti, Brill e Palizzi.