Bologna - Ferrara Travel Guides | Bologna | Sub Regions | Bologna - Ferrara

Ferrara owes its Imperial aspect to the powerful Este dynasty who made the city their stronghold from the 13th to 16th centuries, elevating it from inauspicious beginnings in the middle of a fly-ridden Po delta swamp, and keeping the major artists of the day, such as Pisanello, Mantegna and Jacopo Bellini as well as poets such a Ludovico Ariosto, in work with numerous extravagant commissions. Ferrara is also the Italian capital of bikes. Locals trundle around lazily on them, lending the city an air of gentle provinciality that alleviates the domineering mortar of powers past. The centre of palace-lined arcaded streets, encircled by 9 km of ancient city wall were declared a UNESCO World Heritage sight in 1995.

Sights

Castello Estense

piazza Castello, T 053-22992733. Tue-Sun, 0930-1730, €5

Dominating the main square is the brutal, prison-like castle, surrounded by a moat, the former seat of the Este family and behind whose walls lived the court, which starred, among others, the poets Ariosto and Tasso. Inevitably more elegant inside than its exterior image of power was meant to show, much of the building is now used for offices and is inaccessible. The saletta and salone dei giochi (games room), decorated by Sebastiano Filippi, contain colourful and energetic images of sports. The castle was begun at the end of the 14th century, commissioned by Nicolo II d'Este.

Duomo

piazza Trento e Trieste. Tue-Sat 0830-1200, 1500-1830, Sun, 1000-1200, 1600-1800.

Like that of Modena, Ferrara's cathedral is a mixture of the Gothic and Romanesque. Built between the 12th and 14th centuries, it features work on the central portal of its façade by the same architect, Wiligelmo. Inside it is more like an opulent palace and the museum (T 053-2207449, open Tue-Sat 1000-1200, 1600-1800, free/donation) upstairs contains a collection of important bas-reliefs and a Madonna by Jacopo della Quercia.

Palazzo Schifanoia

via Scandiana 23. 0900-1900 daily, €4.

Roughly translated as 'Palace for Dispelling Boredom' this palazzo was certainly built for the amusement of the Este family who had Cosimo Tura, head of the Ferrara school of painting, paint delightful escapist frescoes of the four seasons on the walls of the salone dei mesi (room of months), each linked with signs of the zodiac and everyday scenes of the court. Remarkably this cycle was not discovered until 1820, having been covered up by the Papacy who took control of the city in 1598. The palazzo also houses the city's main museum of local history and archaeology.

Palazzo dei Diamanti

corso Ercole d'Este 21, T 053-2205844. Tue-Sat 0900-1400, Sun 0900-1300, €4.

Further north in the grand part of the city planned by Ercole I d'Este is the 15th-century Palazzo dei Diamanti, probably named after Ercole whose nature was said to be as cold as a diamond. Diamond-shapes also feature in the nail-headed marble bossages on the façade. The palazzo houses a number of the city's museums, most notably, on the first floor, the city's main art gallery, La Pinacoteca Nazionale (Tue-Sat 0900-1400, Sun 0900-1300, €3,50) where works by Cosimo Tura and other interpreters of the Ferrara school are on display. Aside from the usual local history museums, there is also a museum to the work of the Ferrara-born film director Michangelo Antonioni, of Blow-Up fame.

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