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Pavilion Hall and Ladies' Hall

We hope you’re wearing your best clothes, because you’re about to attend... a wedding.
Take a look around you. You’ll find yourself immersed in a walled garden, with the canopy of tall trees standing out above the walls. The most beautiful flower of all bloomed in this delightful place reserved for the lords of Vignola: the love between Uguccione's heir Ambrogio Contrari and his wife Battistina Campofregoso, daughter of Lodovico, the Doge of Genoa. In the fresco, two guards fold back the drapes of a rich pavilion to reveal the barely visible figures of the bride and groom exchanging their wedding vows. We can only imagine the hustle and bustle of the preparations that kept the entire court busy for the event. Just think how sumptuously dressed the guests were as they admired the fortifications festively decorated to celebrate the wedding held in 1461. The real setting for the event was the castle's 15th-century rooftop garden, which has long since disappeared. It could be reached by a drawbridge connected to the semi-circular structure of the Rocchetta.The vaulted ceiling of the room is a jubilation of laurels and pomegranates, auspicious symbols of victory, fertility and union, surrounding the coats of arms of the bride and groom: for the groom we have the usual coat of arms of the Contraris, while for the bride there’s a shield with two fields, black and silver, grafted into each other by a sequence of waves.Now move into the adjoining room through the door on the wall of the wedding scene [pause].  Known as the Ladies' Hall, it was likely reserved for the consorts of the castellans. You may be interested in the coat of arms of Battistina Campofregoso shown again on the ceiling, while the red one with a shell belongs to Beatrice Rangoni, the wife of Nicolò Contrari, Uguccione’s son and Ambrogio’s brother.