Mesola

Mesola was built around the majestic Este Castle, which was built at the end of the 16th century by Alfonso II d'Este's will. Today, the town represents one of the main starting points to discover the natural beauty of the Po Delta Park area.

The origins of the name can be traced back to "media insula", i.e. "in the middle of the island". In fact, in the past Mesola was an island, a high spot, which had emerged from the silt deposited by the Po during floods. It was submerged until the 10th century and it surfaced with the gradual retreat of the costal shores.

At the end of the 15th century this area became property of the Este family. They wanted to build one of their "Delizie" and turn it into a hunting estate, as a strategy to counteract Venice's military and economic power.

This ambitious project was interrupted by the fall of the Este family in Ferrara. From that moment, this land was controlled by the House of Austria, the Papal States and then France.

At the beginning of the 20th century the great land reclamation projects begun. Today, the Este Castle of Mesola is located at the edge of what once was the hunting estate, which was later transformed into the Natural Reserve of the Gran Bosco della Mesola, protected habitat of the rare deers thet live here.