Spezzano Castle, Medieval castle in Fiorano Modenese, Italy

Spezzano Castle is a fortress in Fiorano Modenese that blends features from different periods, including a pentagonal tower, a porticoed courtyard, and reception rooms with detailed frescoes. The frescoes depict the territories that belonged to the Pio family's domain in the 16th century.

The castle is probably of 11th-century origin; the oldest document naming it, as Castro Spezani, is a rubric of the Modena statutes of 1225. In 1393 Alberto V d'Este granted the fief to Marco I Pio, and in 1529 Marco Pio had a palace built against the walls. On 19 May 1355 the garrison resisted a fifteen-day siege by Este cavalry and infantry.

The castle houses a Museum of Ceramics that shows how pottery production developed from ancient times to modern industrial methods. Visitors can trace the different techniques and styles that emerged in this region over many centuries.

The castle stands at the top of Via del Castello in the Spezzano district. The Camera della Ragione lies just left of the drawbridge entrance, and the Galleria delle battaglie is on the first floor in the noble wing. The castle now houses the ceramics museum and the municipal vinegar cellar.

The Room of Views contains Renaissance paintings depicting more than fifty locations across the Pio family's territories, forming a visual map of their holdings in the 16th century. These paintings reveal how important it was for the nobility to record and display their power across a wide region.