During the Este rule, Tresigallo was a small rural community on the eastern plain, crossed by the Po di Volano, with lands attached to the episcopal Mensa of Ferrara.
The estate known as “La Motta” – a term indicating a raised mound of land protecting against the waters of the surrounding wetlands – was often granted in fief to families connected with the House of Este.
In the early sixteenth century the noble Alessandro Feruffino, a captain in the service of Alfonso I d’Este, built within the estate a complex with a noble residence later known as Palazzo Pio. The name dates back to the seventeenth century, when the estate passed to Cardinal Carlo Pio and then to his heirs, Luigi and Francesco Pio. Subsequently, the complex changed ownership and function several times, being transformed from a noble residence into a farm, guesthouse, mill (demolished in 1895) and warehouse.
Few traces of the original sixteenth-century building survive because of the many alterations, including the demolition of the colonnaded portico and the blocking of the original openings. The tower, which still stands, served as a lookout and point of control for the residence and adjacent structures, such as cowsheds, stables, bakehouse, barns, workers’ dwellings, a fishpond and an icehouse.
Since 2009, the palace has been owned by the Municipality of Tresignana.
