Just past the ambitious, yet incongruous buildings along via Petroselli, sits an unusual house known as Casa dei Crescenzi. The house is remarkable in that it is a well-preserved example of a medieval home, one originally owned by Niccolò de Crescenzi, son of Crescenzio and Theodora. The house was constructed sometime during the 12th-century. Crescenzi built a small fortress here to guard the river harbors and access to the Aemilius bridge, where he levied tolls and made a small fortune. His ambition was reflected in the eclectic style of his…