The real first settlement began only in the 16th century, with the construction of Castrum, a castle commissioned by the cadet branch of the House of Este of San Martino then the Lords of Campogalliano, but nowadays there remain no more than the ruins.

The castle was supposed to be located in the modern Montagnole park, where the morphological aspect of the land implies the existence of some kind of moat, visible to this day.

The channel was mainly used for defensive purpose and there was a bridge that connected the castle with the first settlement, Piazza Castello, where the St. Rocco oratory was built, both still existent.

In 1756 the contract was renewed in favour of the marquise's daughter Anna Ricciarda, who had married Prince Alberico Barbiano di Belgiojoso the year before.

During the years of the Second World War, Campogalliano played a key role in the Resistance, as it was a crucial communication route between the partisan lines located in the mountains and those in the Po valley; even nowadays the fallen in the battlefields are still commemorated and the monumento alla Resistenza was also created by Ettore de Conciliis.