Delizia of Copparo (Delizia di Copparo)

The magniloquent town hall of Copparo hides the signs of a much older history behind its late 19th-century appearance. As early as the 15th century, a fortified residence stood here, the seat of a steward charged with looking after the interests of the Este family, who favoured this property for its hunting grounds. In 1540, Duke Ercole II initiated a grandiose renovation of the building, which came to assume a conformation with two courtyards and corner towers. In the 17th century, it passed to the Barberini family: drawings from the private archive of this family show the main façade decorated with a solemn classical scansion of pilasters and arches. After the palace was almost completely destroyed by a fire in the 19th century, it was rebuilt by the engineer Luigi Boldini in 1875, respecting the old design.