General view

The brick-built Castello Estense in Ferrara was begun by Niccolò II d’Este and was rapidly completed by the military architect Bartolino da Novara. Despite additional upper storeys and constant internal modifications, the essence of what Bartolino did is clear. The main buildings completely surround a square courtyard and act as curtain walls. The whole is dominated by the much higher towers at the corners. Of these, the Torre dei Leoni dates from a preexisting thirteenth-century structure and is larger than the others.