Este Castle — Attraction in Ferrara

The Castello Estense is a moated medieval castle in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. On 3 May 1385, the Ferrarese people, driven to desperation by taxes and flooding that had brought ruin upon them, took themselves to the Marquis Niccolò II d'Este’s palace to ask the advice of Tommaso da Tortona, the high official held to be responsible for this grave situation. Nicolò tried to calm the revolt all day, but by the evening it was clear that the people's spirits were getting more and more angry and that the very safety of the Estensi was endangered. The order was therefore given to summon the disgraced Tommaso, who was given confession and communion and then given to the crowd, who literally tore him to pieces.

The western drawbridge. The tower features machicolations near the top. This episode, which resulted later in the death of the leaders of the revolt, convinced the Marquis that the family's palace (which is now the Palazzo Comunale) was insufficient to guarantee the security of the nobility in the event of riots. He therefore ordered the construction of a defensive fortress on the north side of the Palazzo, entrusting the project to the architect Bartolino da Novara. He used a pre-existing tower (the Torre dei Leoni), which was part of the defensive walls, at that period very much to the south of the present ones, running, roughly speaking, along the line of the present Corso Giovecca and Viale Cavour. The tower was joined by curtain walls to another three newly built for this project. Between the Este residence and the new fortress was built an aerial passageway (perhaps in wood) to allow people to flee from one to the other.

As the city grew the city walls were moved, so the defensive function of the castle became less important and apartments began to be built in its interior, which was by now considered an annex to the court palace. From the time of Ercole I d'Este on, there are many records of construction of apartments, and of their enlargement and enhancement. The definitive transformation works were ordered by Ercole II after a fire in 1544, which had damaged the previous accommodation. The architect Girolamo da Carpi gave the castle the external appearance which can be still seen today, although the interior has been remodelled several times across the ages. After the departure of the Este to Modena, the castle became the residence of the Papal Legate who administered the Ferrarese territory as civil governor (for a maximum term of four years). There were few changes made to the structure of the building, the most obvious being the increase in height of the north ravelin (the room which currently houses the cafeteria).

In 1860 Ferrara was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. The castle, now state-owned, was bought for 70,000 liras in 1874 by the Province of Ferrara that utilized the structure as headquarters of the Prefecture. In the subsequent decades, the castle underwent many small restoration projects, especially between 1910 and 1930, when some very questionable attempts were done. During World War II it was severely damaged by Allied aerial bombing, thus it was partially...

This is in the centre of Ferrara and still retains its moat and its 16th century appearance. It is actually a huge castle/palace that was the seat for the Dukes of Ferrara for two hundred years and was then the seat of the Papal Legate for another three hundred. We crossed the drawbridge and paid the €10 entrance although I got the 48 hour museum pass for €20 which gave me access to 10 city museums.

The first thing we noticed in the castle was the magnificent painted ceilings, not in every room but quite a few. They varied in style from frescoes to whatever you call painting inside a wooden framework of ceiling beams. The dungeons were impressive too, definitely a style I would bring back in for repeat or serious offenders! We climbed the stairs and saw the wonderful citrus garden on the terrace, designed by Eleanor of Aragon to remind her of Naples. This had great views over the moat but I messed those photos up.

Deb then sat and chilled whilst I climbed the Lion's Tower. I don't think I have ever hated vertigo more as it is such a stupidly irrational think but just so powerful. The steps were like metal fire escape stairs so you could see through them, all the way down, as you climbed and they creaked away. I think there were 6 levels to the tower and the only exit was at the top so I dread to think what my heart rate was by the time I got there. The views were obviously good but I couldn't take advantage of them as I didn't want to get anywhere near the edge. My brain knew the castle had stood 700 years so it was all fine but it was also telling me that it had been damaged be earthquakes, fires and allied bombing in WW2 so was basically an accident waiting to happen.

I went back down the stairs on very rubbery legs and finally reached the next part of the tour. Luckily no one else was on the stairs when I went up or down. We saw more amazing ceilings and read more information - the displays in the castle all had English versions and told of the architecture of the city, draining the nearby swamps to reclaim the land, town planning, the history of the Dukes, the artists involved in beautifying the castle, the earthquakes etc, a really fabulously...

Of all the attractions in Ferrara, the Estense Castle is the most iconic. We visited on a Thursday morning and there were very few other visitors. Our ticket was part of the MyFE card, which is definitely worth purchasing for a few days ( if nothing else it reduces the tourist tax. We paid just over €25 euros for a 6 day pass.

The castle is most impressive from the exterior., however unlike some castles I have visited in Italy it has a good degree of information and exhibits as you go round.

Dont expect to wizz round, it seemed like a labyrinth, and we were there for about 2 hours.

The Lions Tower is about 112 steps, not too bad compared to many towers Ive climbed. Obviously there not as tall, you still had a good view over the old town.

When we visited (June 2025) The visit finished qith an exhibition of photography by Art Kane. Hands up, I had never heard if the guy, but if you are person of a certain age (like myself) you could help but recognise many of his iconic images. The icing on the cake were the Andy Worhols. The exhibition runs until September and is definitely an added bonus.

You can visit the courtyard for free and there were at least 3 entrances across the moat. The tourist office is also located in the courtyard.

Ferrara is a definitely not a tourist town as such and can therefore be enjoyed without too much hussle and bussle. On the other hand it is most certainly a working town and unlike many of the more famous historic centres is a mixture of old and new, and lacks a bit of charm as a result.

The towns historical sites are a little far apart, walkable, but given it was 35 degrees plus the week we stayed seemed a little too far on occasions.

Overall we really enjoyed the castle and would highly...