Castello di Formigine, Formigine

Formigine Castle is a medieval castle located in the municipality of the same name, in the province of Modena, at Calcagnini Square 1.

According to tradition, the castle was erected in the 13th century; recent archaeological investigations conducted by Sauro Gelichi of Ca' Foscari University of Venice have allowed the original nucleus to date back to the 10th century. The earliest document attesting to the existence of the castle dates back to 1201, and reads: From the 14th century the fortified complex underwent considerable changes: after some initial architectural transformations occurred under the Adelardi and Azzo da Castello, in 1405 Marco I Pio was enfeoffed the castle of Formigine by Nicolò III d'Este and gave the castle its present form.

Traces of the ancient structures remain in the archaeological area inside the castle, where the remains of the boundary wall of the thirteenth-century fortress, the ancient parish church of St. Bartholomew "della Rocca" and the medieval cemetery that surrounded it still stand. Archaeological research conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s also brought to light the late medieval village, which had formed close to the fortress wall in the 14th century.

The castle, after extensive restoration, has housed the Multimedia Museum since 2007, with installations by Studio Azzurro and a documentation center.