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The Story Behind

The Castello Estense in Ferrara was built in 1385 after a violent uprising forced Niccolò II d’Este to seek stronger protection. Surrounded by a water-filled moat and guarded by four towers, it first served as a fortress and later became a Renaissance palace.

The castle has prisons where even members of the Este family were locked away, grand Gothic halls, and an upper-floor Orange Garden with citrus trees. It hosted poets, artists, and lavish court life, making Ferrara one of Italy’s first cultural capitals.

After the Este moved to Modena, the castle became home to papal governors.

Here I found an interesting video about the castle. It’s in Italian, but the photos are really fascinating.

📍 Castello Estense on Google Maps.


The whole charm of free drawing and sketching is that you can leave something unfinished or draw it differently, and even if it doesn’t turn out the way you planned, you can just say that’s exactly how you meant it. 😉

Here’s my version of this castle. Though I was drawing from another photo that I took myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it.

Music For Drawing

Reference Photo: Nbisi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Note: The reference photo is real, while the sketch and the colored version were created with the help of AI to serve as inspiration for your own drawing.

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