Linked to the castle by an elevated passageway, the 13th-century crenellated Palazzo Municipale was the Este family home until they moved next door to the castle in the late 15th century. Nowadays, it’s largely occupied by administrative offices, but you can wander around its twin courtyards (though one, Giardino delle Duchesse, was closed for renovation at the time of writing) or ogle 1930s-era frescoes in the Sala dell'Arengo (up the noble staircase on the right).
The entrance is watched over by copper statues of Nicolò III and his less-wayward son Borso – they’re 20th-century copies but nonetheless imposing.