Tower of Santo Stefano

From a historical point of view, Molinella still has some interesting traces of the warlike past of the plains.

In the centre of the town, the lovely Tower, the Torre di Santo Stefano is all that remains of the ancient castle built by the Bolognese to defend the border with Ferrara. Its present appearance is the result of rebuilding in 1404, after Alberto V d’Este, an ally of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, had destroyed it in 1390 along with the rest of the castle.

Changed into a bell-tower in the mid-16th century, its original merlons have been replaced by a bizarre crowning surmounted by a small four-arched tower which acted as the belfry.

A date to be remembered is that of the Battle of the Riccardina, the 25th July 1467, the first occasion of a massive employment of firearms.