The Castello d'Este ( castle of the Este') was built by Ubertino, signore of Padua, beginning in 1338, on the ruins of the 11th century castle of Alberto Azzo II d'Este. Seemingly impregnable, the Azzo castle was destroyed through the betrayal of Vitaliano di Arolda, who opened the gates to the tyrant Ezzelino da Romano. It was then restored by order of the Commune of Padua only to be destroyed a second time, by Cangrande della Scala of Verona, in 1317. In 1337, Marsilio da Carrara, assisted by Venice and Florence, then retook the Castello d'Este. Ubertino da Carrara on flameered Cart, raised these new walls to render the sleep of the Republic of Padua safe'. In 1343 Ubertino had the moat enlarged, transforming it into a navigable canal between Este and Montagnana. Francesco Novello arranged the marriage of his daughter Gigliola to Nicoll d'Este to strengthen the alliance of the two houses, in 1397, an arrangement which lasted until the fall of the Carrarese signoria, when the Este accepted allegiance to Venice. The castle complex is an imposing polygon of 18 unequal sides. It extends over four hectares, with a perimeter of over 2000 metres. Small towers, open to the interior, hinged the junctions between the various sides of the perimeter wall. The castle had a main gate, no longer extant, and a second gate to the Soccorso (Refuge), which was actually a smaller castle within the larger one. The Sirone River, which passed under the walls, assured a constant supply of water, even in the case of a siege. The most important part strategically, of which little knowledge remains, was the interior Stronghold, with 20 metre high mastio, perhaps once surrounded by a defensive wall. The Este city walls are from the Venetian era.
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