GARDENS OF ESTE AND GONZAGA PRINCES 
son, the warlike Alfonso the First, built the new 
pleasure-house, called “ La Castellina ” from its castel¬ 
lated walls, in this corner of the grounds near the 
ramparts, and planted a triangle with pergolas of quince 
and cherry, plum and pear trees, and avenues of elm 
and cypress all converging to a central point. His 
grandson, another Alfonso, added a marble flight of steps 
leading from the Casino to the Peschiera, a large pond 
encircled with a pillared balustrade, where fish darted 
to and fro under the crystal waters and rose to the surface 
at the sound of a tinkling bell to be fed by the Duchess 
and her ladies. 1 
In his later years, when Duke Ercole laid out the new 
district known as the Addizione Erculea to the north of 
the old town, he planted double avenues of elms along 
the ramparts which enclosed the Certosa and villa of Bel- 
fiore, thus clothing the bastions for the defence of the 
city with beautiful verdure. At the same time he added 
a splendid chapel and frescoed halls to the palace of 
Belriguardo, which was said to contain as many rooms 
as days of the year, while the gardens, with their wealth 
of statuesque fountains and skilfully planned perspec¬ 
tives commanding superb views of the plains and river 
Po, were celebrated throughout Italy. When, in the 
summer of 1493, Lodovico Sforza visited Ferrara with 
his wife and child, he was enchanted with this villa, and 
1 M. A. Guarini, Compendio historico di chiese di Ferrara, pp. 57 — 59 - 
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