Bentivoglio is the name of the noble Bolognese family who built their Castle here, a “Domus Jocunditatis” created as a place for enjoyment and hunting with dogs and falcons. At that time the place was called Ponte Poledrano.

The castle walls still shield an authentic 15th century artistic pearl, the “Storie del pane”, an extraordinary cycle of ten frescoes from the School of Ferrara, depicting the various phases of bread-making, from the sowing to the “court banquet”.

Among the guests of Giovanni II Bentivoglio and his wife Ginevra Sforza were Ercole I d’Este, Lucrezia Borgia, Alfonso I d’Este and other Renaissance Lords, who often arrived at the castle by boat.