Viterbo: Profile of a Thirteenth-Century Papal Palace examines the form, function, style, and historical significance of one of the most remarkable structures created in Italy during the thirteenth century. Providing an in-depth analysis of the palace's place in architectural history, Gary Radke also analyzes the social history of the building, demonstrating how Viterbo's civic leaders were able to attract the popes to their city and how local builders accommodated papal taste, needs, and sensibilities.

He reveals, moreover, how the building served the converging interest of the popes, the papal bureaucracy, and the local citizenry. A detailed catalogue, measured drawings, and graphic reconstructions provide an archaeological analysis of the entire structure.