Mesola Castle is one of the 19 prestigious residences (called delights) of the Este. It is located in the municipality of Mesola in Piazza Umberto I.
Built between 1578 and 1583 at the behest of Alfonso II d'Este, by Giovan Battista Aleotti on a project by Marc'Antonio Pasi, known as Il Montagnana, it was used by the Este family as a dwelling during hunting trips in the adjacent Mesola wood. The delight has a square-plan architectural layout with four square crenellated towers at the corners, surrounded by arcaded buildings. It remained the property of the Este family until 1771. Various changes of ownership followed until 1952 when it passed under the control of the Ente Delta Padano and is now owned by the Province of Ferrara.
The castle houses the Mesola Forest and Deer Museum on the second floor. On the main floor there is a permanent exhibition that traces the stages of the Este dream that, at the end of the sixteenth century, was crowned with the construction of this mighty castle, surrounded by walls for 12 miles and overlooking the natural harbor of the abbot so much tell the Venetians that Mesola was more like an attempt to build a new port city. The elegant setting mixes with the majesty of the rooms with frescoed ceilings and the visit enriched by interesting multimedia reproductions. On the ground floor inside the majestic hall the symbols of the characters who have made the history of the castle from the Este house to the Papal State. (source: Wikipedia)