In the Cronaca Carrarese, Andrea Gatari informs us that Francesco the Elder, fearing for his life, decided 'to make a castled fort in the city, and having counsel from a valiant engineer, named Maestro Nicolo della Bellanda - they decided to erect it at S. Tomasso, and at S. gostino, where there were and are the towers of that perfidious Eccelino da Romano, being the strongest point of the city'. This location had indeed been the most fortified point since time immemorial: archaeological findings include a Roman wall in trachite, which must have been part of the walls of ancient Patavium, and fortifications from the high medieval period, perhaps the period of Byzantine control, brought to a close by the Lombards in 602-603. Nicolo selected this precise location where the Bacchiglione River divides into a main channel and the Naviglio Grande canal, obtaining protection from both water and land, and between 1374 and 1378 erected the four-cornered layout of the Castle, with central court and access points protected by moats and drawbridges. In the mid 1400s, Michele Savonarola still lauded the dignity and the beauty of the building, with its abundance magnificent rooms and decorations. The castle occupied a surface area of 7,400 m2, articulated in a south wing for the troops' lodgings and magazines, with north and east wings for the residence and the activities of the signori. To the west, the spaces of the former Ezzelini structures have been discerned under the current pavement. Just as Ezzelino had earlier transformed a city gate into castle gate, so Carraresi transformed the same gate, now furnishing it with moat: during restoration work, a reliquary containing a coin of Francesco the Elder was found in the foundation. With the Venetian conquest, in 1405, the castle went into a long decline. It became the seat of the Venetian militia, and in the mid 15th century some of the rooms were also converted for grain storage. Between 1767 and 1777 it was transformed from military to civil use, with the construction of the Observatory. In 1806 the Napoleonic government ordered its conversion for use as prison, which later became a penitentiary. When the inmates were finally transferred to the new Due Palazzi Prison, the castle was returned to the city. ---- RESTORED FRESCOES ---- Restoration work between 1992 and 2003 brought to light wall paintings showing that, for the Castle, Francesco I and II had adopted a decorative programme that was both dignified and self-celebrating, in keeping with that seen at the Carraresi Royal Palace. It seems that, in place of the sad traces of the Ezzelini prisons, Francesco the Elder wished to create a place that would enchant and welcome, with fine decorations, suitable not only for protecting against enemy aggression but also as a setting that would put the signori and their important guests at ease. Where the Observatory had been situated, restoration revealed the painted decoration of three spaces: the 'great cart' room, with its symbol of the Carrara house on the barrel vault ceiling and an elegant floral-geometric pattern on the walls, the 'room of the facing parrots', and a room with garlands and the initials of Francesco I. In the latter room, the dense pattern of repeated and intertwining motifs gives an effect of precious fabric, recalling both the cloth and miniatures of the era. Three arches divide the grand salon, on the castle's ground floor, into two rooms. The decoration of one achieved a wonderfully scenic effect, with a large fascia of false marble intarsia, in repeated motifs of the cart and the heraldic rest of Francesco I, topped by a frieze of alternating plant motifs and rosone. The second room is frescoed with plant motifs alternating with the Carraresi crest. In a room on the first floor the decoration is composed in three registers: the lower level presents a decorative parament drapery, while the middle level is filled by a design of alternating red and white bands and lilies of Avignon. The upper level alternates the Hungarian-Avignon arms of Luigi the Great and the refined profiles of a female and male couple. The depictions of the Carraresi in the frescos of the era are consistently in this style of a profile, originating from classic coins and medals. A large room on the second floor of the smaller tower has decoration depicting a draped awning (velario), with a design of floral racemes and ermine border. Above the velario appear stemmed roses, a unique element of 14th century painting in Padua, linked to the culture of the court and the study of the literature of Petrarch. ----- THE PRISON ---- In 1807 the Napoleonic government engaged the Paduan architect Daniele Danieletti to convert the castle into a prison, since the old Debtor's Prison in Piazza delle Erbe was no longer able to fill the role. Major changes to the interior and exterior were necessary to adapt the former garrison, still further when, in 1821, its role evolved to that of penitentiary, for prisoners serving long-term sentences. The administration had to address the various needs for the prisoners, from work to recreation, and the castle, with its sumptuous decoration, underwent devastating changes. The period from 1838 and 1845 saw the construction of a long four-storey building facing the Bacchiglione River, now used as the seat of the Department of Astronomy of the University of Padua. Two smaller buildings to the east were built as the offices and residence for the director, corps of guards and chaplain. The church, visible from the Tiso del Camposampiero Riviera, was also erected. The second half of the 19th century saw the construction of the south perimeter wall, along the river shore and dike embankments, as well as the installation of a metal-clad cupola behind the Torlonga tower and, at the north wall, the construction of a long building containing isolation cells. In the late 1800s and early 1900s further buildings rose, where the companies that offered paid work for the prisoners could situate workshops and warehouses. All of the open spaces were eventually filled in, except for the Carraresi courtyard, which became three separate parts. All trace of the magnificent period of the Carraresi and the role of royal palace seemed irretrievably lost, and the castle resumed to its symbolism of the earlier Ezzelini period. The walls became covered in prisoners' graffiti, recounting their individual stories of suffering. It was only with the transfer of the prison to the 'Due Palazzi' that the castle returned to new life.