The date of construction of the fortress is not certain, it is presumed after the Carolingian age to defend the town from the barbarian Hungarians. A document dating back to the year 936 certifies that the city of Vignola in that period was subject to the authority of the Bishop of Modena. Another document proves the existence of the fortress at least starting from the year 1178. Until the 15th century the function of the building was exclusively military. In 1401 the Ferrarese nobleman Uguccione dei Contrari received the fiefdom of Vignola as a gift from the lord of Ferrara Niccolò III d'Este. In the following twenty years the fortress profoundly changed its purpose, transforming itself into the sumptuous residence of the Contrari family, who had considerable wealth.
In 1575 the Contrari became extinct and the feudal assets returned to the Estensi. The Este family governed Vignola for only two years, as in 1577 the fiefdom was ceded to Jacopo Boncompagni, natural son of the future Pope Gregory XIII, in exchange for 75,000 Ferrarese gold scudi. The Boncompagni family entrusted the management of the Rocca and Vignola to an administrator, visiting the town sporadically. Antonio Boncompagni was the last feudal lord of Vignola, as in 1796, with the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte the Boncompagni declined and a republican committee took over. In 1815 Vignola, not once again a marquisate, was incorporated into the dominions of the Duke of Modena, Francis IV of Modena. In the 19th century various social and political institutions were located inside the building: the Town Hall, the library and the Cassa di Risparmio di Vignola which purchased the property in 1965, which subsequently, in 1998, was sold to the Cassa Foundation of Vignola Savings.