The fortress of the Este family, it is one of the few examples of a building that has survived in its original form, including the water-filled moat.

Niccolò II of the Este family initiated the construction of the fortress out of the need to protect his family from angry subjects. Later, the family expanded the fortress, which today is partially open to the public.

It’s worth visiting the Hall of the Giants (Sale Dei Giganti) and the Games Hall (Salone Dei Giochi), alongside the dungeon, about which it is said that the heads of the duchess—who was the duke’s second wife—and her lover were beheaded there.