Marquis Niccolò II d'Este commissioned the castle after a revolt in 1385 showed the palace was not secure enough, and construction started on September 29 of that year. Bartolino da Novara designed the original fortress. Ercole II ordered the definitive transformation after a fire in 1544, and Girolamo da Carpi gave it its present exterior. It is a large block with four corner towers and a moat, with a medieval base and Renaissance upper stories.
After the Este left for Modena, papal legates lived there. The Province of Ferrara bought it in 1874. Allied bombing in World War II caused severe damage, and a tower partly collapsed in the 2012 earthquakes.
The Province owns it, and it houses museum displays and exhibitions. The article gives no hours or prices.
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