An institutional palace, with a deep porch at the base and representative halls above, probably the seat of the Captain linked to the Scaligeri of Verona, who held Este among their possessions in the first half of the 1300s.
Today it maintains its service character by hosting the Gabinetto di Lettura Society, a private club that has been the driving force of the city's cultural life since 1848: it gathers opponents of Austria, promotes under the guidance of a historian (Gaetano Nuvolato) the "Raccolta estense" of documents and private historical archives, which now counts about 50,000 documents and volumes, including precious copies of manuscripts and ancient prints. In recent decades, alongside the archive and library, broader cultural activities have developed, sometimes significant for the city.
The restoration of the facade makes the numerous scars and sutures of the adjustments, renovations, and arrangements that have been made to the building readable. However, it still retains its medieval image, with Gothic arches and traces of triforas on the front.
The very deep porch (two spans in one part) of the Palace recalls the typology of the arengario and other command palaces from the communal era. It is a place that is imagined to be destined for debate and confrontation among free men, and that does not correspond to the authoritarian behaviors we might envision of the Captain in command on behalf of the Veronese, Scaliger government.
The palace constitutes, along with the Town Hall, the noble backdrop of Piazza Maggiore, given the other two sides are commercial and lacking notable buildings.
Exhibitions and cultural events are often hosted under the porches and in the halls of the Gabinetto di Lettura.
