SCHIFANOIA PALACE
The first palace was built in the late fourteenth century by the will of Alberto V d'Este. Its name derives from the expression "schivar la noia" ("escape from boredom") and refers to the function of the building, a place for the idle hours of the family. Located in a green area just outside the medieval city walls and surrounded by peaceful religious buildings, Schifanoia was one of the Delizie ("delights") Estensi. This name still defines the country houses used by the court for leisure, hunting, feasts and games, far away from political responsibilities.
In 1465 Borso d'Este entrusted the architect Pietro Benvenuto degli Ordini the task of enlarging and restructuring the building. Around 1471 the palace was an elegant two-storied building with a frescoed façade in fake polychrome marble and with an imposing marble portal bearing Este’s coat of arms, initially painted.
During those same years the sculptor Domenico di Paris realized the stucco in the Hall of Virtue, while the painters from the “officina Ferrarese”, among which Francesco del Cossa stood out, decorated the main hall with the extraordinary fresco representing the series of months, one of the highest marks for Humanism astrological culture.
In 1493-98 Ercole I gave order to Biagio Rossetti to replace the unsafe battlements with a brick built cornice and to add new rooms in the palace.