Until the reopening of the castle and the civic museum, it housed the paintings of the Pico family and other paintings from the churches of Mirandola. In the hall was also placed the large painting (450x250 cm) by the Neapolitan painter Raffaello Tancredi depicting Pope Julius II during the siege of Mirandola in 1511. On July 27, 2012, the fire brigade extracted some of the paintings kept in the Great Hall, including the "Fall of St. Paul" by Sante Peranda, the "Adoration of the Three Kings" by Palma il Giovane and "St. Agata" by Pietro Faccini; the saved works of art were then taken to the restoration centre set up at the Ducal Palace of Sassuolo.