The palace was erected in 1391 by Alberto V d'Este on the occasion of his marriage with Giovanna de Roberti. Like a number of other Quattrocento palaces, such as the Schifanoia and the Belfiore, the building was frescoed by Antonio Alberti, here depicting scenes of courtly life and romances. He also painted a large fresco, now destroyed, of Paradise for the 1437–38 ecumenical council, during which the palace housed the emperor of Constantinople (John VIII Palaiologos) and Pope Eugene IV. Of the former three loggias of the palace, only one remains.