First Floor
To access the rooms on the second floor, or piano nobile, where the family life of the lords of the Rocca took place, one climbs the wide staircase leading to the upper loggia. The apartments, of the master of the house and his consort, were arranged between the towers and the keep from which they were protected, describing a U-shaped path at the ends of which were the Chapel, reserved for the devotion of the family, and the master of the house’s study, located at the most protected point of the residence.
First FloorChapel of Uguccione
On the second floor of the Rocca, the main floor where the family life of the lords and their guests took place, is the Contrari Chapel, mentioned as a small church in a 1642 inventory and remembered as a chapel two centuries later.
First FloorHall next to the
Chapel
The room adjacent to the Chapel probably functioned as an antechamber to the lady’s private apartment and was connected by a small door to the room called Anticappella.
First FloorLadies Hall
It is speculated that this room was reserved for the wives (the ladies) of the lords. Indeed, on the walls were frescoed the coats of arms of some of the consorts of the feudal lords of Vignola.
First FloorPavilion Hall
Taking center stage in this Hall is what appears to be a representation of the marriage of Uguccione’s second son Ambrogio Contrari and Battistina Campofregoso celebrated in 1461
First FloorHall of Dogs
A wooded landscape and a hunting scene with dogs chasing a hare and facing each other, a probable reference to the Contrari surname, provide the backdrop for this small but striking room.
First FloorHall of Coats of Arms
Adjacent to the Hall of the Pavilion, the Hall of Coats of Arms, is completely dedicated to the Contrari family. All the walls bear the inquartate arms of the lords of Vignola, charged on a tournament shield.
First FloorTree Trunk Hall
From the Hall of Coats of Arms we move on to the Hall of Tree Trunks, the name of which comes from the presence of terracotta ribs worked to look like knotty tree trunks that come together in the keystone.
First FloorCovered walkaway and studiolo of Uguccione
Uguccione Contrari’s studiolo was the most private place in the entire palace, next to his bedroom and used to store the most important archival papers.