The palace was built starting in 1498 and the work was partly supervised directly by Duke Ercole I d'Este before selling it to Aldobrandino Turchi,[1] exponent of the Giocoli Turchi lineage, a collateral branch descending from the Giocoli.[2]
The palace was ceded to the military in 1933 and heavily damaged by bombing during World War II. It was later renovated and used as a university and museum building. It has housed the Botanical Garden of the University of Ferrara in the garden since 1962 and in 1964 the then Institute of Geology was transferred there, later becoming the seat of the Department of Biology and Evolution and the Museum of Palaeontology and Prehistory Piero Leonardi.
Description
The architectural structure does not enjoy any particular decoration and follows a rather linear perspective, built with bricks and characterised by the only notable element, the parastas angular white stone with a double order of Corinthian capitals.
Also part of the original construction are the entrance portal and the decorated terracotta cornice.[3]
^M. Toffanello, "Ferrara. La città rinascimentale e il del delta del Po, 2005, p.91
^ Andrea Castagnetti, La società ferrarese (secoli XI—XIII), Verona, Libreria universitaria editrice, 1991 p.24 (online textArchived 28 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine)
