Estense Fortress of Saint Martino (Rocca Estense di San Martino)

The Rocca Estense di San Martino presents a planimetric configuration centred on a quadrangular inner courtyard enclosed by buildings and a tower located at the north-eastern apex: the eastern wing also extends towards the south, curving at a convex angle near the low arched entrance portal. The corner tower with a quadrangular plan has a brick structure and a scarped base similar to the east and north sides, differing from the latter in the upper part, crowned by corbels surmounted by dovetail battlements.

The inner courtyard is particularly interesting, elegantly embellished on the eastern side by a 15th-century portico with four arches supported by columns and marble capitals. The south-western corner of the complex is occupied by the chapel of San Giovanni (1395), whose exterior sides feature single-lancet windows and blind arcades. Also worthy of note are the interior spaces on the ground floor used for museum exhibits, which their wooden ceiling decorations dating back to the 15th-17th centuries with paintings exalting the House of Este with heraldic, grotesque and other floral and anthropomorphic themes. The main floor also features particularly important pictorial decorations in the rooms used as a library and for cultural events.