The construction of the Palazzo Pretorio became necessary when, in 1540, the Palazzo del Capitano (Palazzo dell'Arco) was given to the Benedictine nuns of the Annunziata to be used as a convent.
The building became the new headquarters of the Universitas and, evidence shows, still bore an Aragonese coat of arms dated 1512, evidently taken from the old palace, and two inscriptions attesting to the phases of the works in the mid-16th century.
In the eighteenth century the palace fell into ruin, so the Universitas was forced to move its headquarters for meetings to the church of Sant'Antonio abate al Paniere del Sabato (now Piazza Plebiscito) until its renovation, decided in 1785.
On the left corner of the facade, there is a stone with an epigraph that is no longer legible: it is a reused element, a Latin inscription most likely from Cannae.