Estense Villa of Migliaro – Pavanelli House (Villa Estense di Migliario – Casa Pavanelli)

The origins of the Este palace in Migliaro, which was built in the early Middle Ages, are unknown. In 1251, the Municipality of Ferrara, which owned it, had in fact ceded the wide strip of land along the Po between Massafiscaglia and Valcesura to Azzo VII d’Este. Between 1441 and 1450, the Este residence was significantly enlarged by Leonello d’Este, who raised the building, equipped it with a loggia and entrance portico with stone architectural elements and commissioned the workshop of the court painter, Iacopo Sagramoro, to carry out the fresco decoration of many parts of the complex. Bequeathed by his father Alfonso I to Cardinal Ippolito II in 1533, together with his possessions, reduced to only six, the palace was then ceded to Alfonso II to be finally sold to Giovanni Battista da Fiume in 1576, thus leaving the Este estate. The 18th-century cartographic documentation indicates it as belonging to the Marquis Fiaschi. It survived until 1856, when it was demolished by Giuseppe Pavanelli di Migliarino.