The origins of the complex are not precisely documented, but the first records date back to the late fifteenth century, when it belonged to Sigismondo Cantelmo di Sora; it then passed into the ownership of Alfonso I d’Este, who, a few months before his death in 1534, donated it to Laura Dianti (see box).
Laura initiated major changes, transforming the palace into a rectangular building with four corner towers, tall and crenellated – a configuration that can still be seen today.
In 1569 a small church was built, and the complex became the operational centre of the castalderia (estate management), overseeing agricultural, dairy and livestock activities. The garden was distinguished by the geometric arrangement of its fruit trees. In 1590 Cesare d’Este sold the estate to the Picchiati family, and in 1771 the Bargellesi brothers commissioned further alterations, including a portico between the residence and the church and stucco decorations. In 1932 the complex was purchased by the Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara, later passing to the Fontana family and finally being donated in 1972 to the Province of Ferrara.In 2006, a landscape redevelopment project for the garden between the small palace and the Torre Colombaia was completed, enhancing the natural setting. On the ground floor is the “Sepolcreto dei Fadieni” Archaeological Museum (Museo Archeologico “Sepolcreto dei Fadieni”), which displays Roman finds from a local necropolis, offering insights into the daily life and economic activities of a family of the Roman Empire. The upper floor houses a permanent collection of works by Mario Maranini devoted to rural life. Next to the castle, the Vinaia del Sapere – a former drying house recently restored – now hosts exhibitions, meetings and cultural activities.
Laura Dianti
She was the mistress of Alfonso I d’Este after the death of his second wife, Lucrezia Borgia.
She had two sons, Alfonso and Alfonsino, who were legitimised by the duke in his will of 1533.
Before his death, Alfonso granted to Laura and their sons the Delizia del Verginese, which had originally been destined for his legitimate son Ercole.
Laura Dianti married Alfonso I d’Este shortly before his death in 1534. Although the historian Muratori gathered documentary evidence to confirm the marriage, there are no official records that attest to it. Despite the absence of definitive proof, the union is generally regarded as public and official.
It is suspected that Duke Ercole II had the marriage record destroyed in order to avoid rival claims to the succession from Alfonso and Alfonsino.
Sepolcreto dei Fadieni
Since 2006, the Archaeological Museum housed in the Delizia del Verginese has displayed the fascinating Roman-era necropolis of the Fadieni, dating from the 1st–2nd centuries AD (Imperial age).
This is a family necropolis in which four generations of the same family of Roman citizens, the Fadieni, landowners in the Po Delta, are buried.
The area lies close to Portomaggiore and not far from Voghenza; it is a strip particularly rich in Roman remains, especially necropolises, located beside settlements along one of the ancient branches of the Po (the Sandalo).
Through the objects that formed the grave goods, the hallmarks of an entire civilisation’s way of life clearly emerge, with its customs and practices, where everyday life is interwoven with myth and with age-old symbols expressing humanity’s enduring desire for immortality.
