Mesola Castle (Castello di Mesola)

After the extensive drainage works of the Polesine di Ferrara, known as the Great Reclamation (c. 1566-1580), the Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II d’Este had a new castle built near Mesola, at the mouth of the Po, equipped with a Barco enclosed by a large wall perimeter. It would have been the first stage of an extraordinarily ambitious building plan, as it was aimed at creating a settlement of exceptional size in a highly strategic area between the river and the Adriatic Sea.

Testifying to the dream of the last Duke of Ferrara is the splendid Mesola Castle erected between 1578 and 1584 by Marcantonio Pasi. The focal point of the architectural complex is the ducal palace: an imposing brick building featuring four corner towers arranged diagonally. The building stands on a scarp base bordered at the bottom and at the top by two marble curbs. Three tiers of windows open along the façades. The crowning of the four corner towers is softened by cornices and elegant battlements. Around the palace, the service wings of the lower court enclose a semi-octagonal courtyard with a porticoed perimeter.