Rovigo

Rovigo lies on the plain between the Adige and the Po. Its medieval castle and brick walls recalled the town's long association with the Este family of Ferrara; the tall Torre Donà survives from the castle as a landmark of the town. The bishop of Adria had earlier made Rovigo his temporary residence after his own city was devastated by Hungarian raiders.

Este rule ended in 1482, when Venetian forces took Rovigo after a siege. The peace of 1484 confirmed their possession. During the War of the League of Cambrai the Este briefly recovered the city, but the Venetians returned in 1514 and held it until the French Revolution. In 1806 Napoleon made Rovigo a ducal grand fief for his general Anne Jean Marie René Savary.