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Things to see -
What to see in Ferrara (Back to
Ferrara main information page)
The
Castello Estense, a brick building surrounded by a moat,
with four towers, built after 1385 and partly restored in 1554,
dominates the centre of Ferrara, built at the time to be a major
feat of military engineering. The Este court thrived artists
like Piandello, Jacopo Bellini, Mantegna, and the poets Ariosto
and Tasso.
Indeed, the
visitor is brought back to the days of Este magnificence,
especially in the rooms of ?Salone dei Giochi? (games
rooms), decorated by Filippo with scenes of wrestling and
chariot-racing.
The
University of Ferrara, one of Italy oldest university, was
founded in 1391 by Alberto V d?Este, and it is considered since
an important cultural monument of the city and of Italy alone.
It has been serving the faculties of law, architecture,
pharmacy, medicine and natural science. Its library has valuable
manuscripts, including part of that of the Orlando Furies and
letters by Tasso. The University is also famous as there took
their degree the
astronomer
Nicolas
Copernicus (1503), Paracelsus (Philosopher and a man of
medicine), and Pico della Mirandola (Humanist and Italian
philosopher).
The
Palazzo Comunale, built in 1243 and rebuilt in the 18th
century, was the earlier residence of the Este family. It hosts
statues of the Este family on its fa?de.
Opposite
the Palazzo Comunale, is the Duomo, a mixture of
Romanesque and Gothic styles with a magnificent fa?de which
decoration on its carved central portal (from a XII century by
Wiligelmus), depict the Last
Judgement.
Inside, much of the church is magnificently decorated with
sparkling chandeliers. The inside museum has a collection of a
set of bas-reliefs illustrating the
labours
of the months, manuscripts, two organ shutters decorated by Tura,
and a beautiful Madonna by Della Quercia.
Ferrara?s
medieval quarter is one of the most characteristic in
Italy. Structured as a beautiful long arcaded from the Duomo,
with its rows of shops, to Via San Romano and to the arched Via
delle Volte.
Here the
visitor can appreciate a number of the Renaissance palaces once
inhabited by Ferrara's families: Casa Romei, is a typical
building of the time, with frescoes and graceful courtyards. The
antique Monastery of Corpus Domini holds the tombs of
Alfonso I and II d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia.
The
Palazzo Schifanoia (the "Palace of Joy") is one of the most
important of Ferrara's palaces. Belonged to the Este family, it
includes frescoes depicting the life of Borso of Este, fine
choir-books with miniatures, the signs of the zodiac and
allegorical representations of the months, plus more frescos by
Cosimo Tura.
Palazzo di
Lodovico IL Moro
hosts the Archeological museum, with finds from Spina,
the Greco-Etruscan seaport and trading colony near Commachio,
and a canoe from one of the prehistoric lake villages in the Po
Delta.
The
Palazzo dei Diamanti is nowadays used for temporary modern
art exhibitions as well as being home to the Pinacoteca
Nazionale, the Museo Michelangelo Antonioni and the
Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza.
The
Archivio Storico Comunale contains relevant historical
documents from the XV century. The Archivio Storico Diocesano
is more ancient, mentioned in documents in 955, and contains
precious documents collected across the centuries.
Many
libraries also enrich this town, which possesses a cultural
heritage of extraordinary importance.
Other
sights worth visiting are the historical theatre, the Certosa,
the Church of San Francesco (by Biagio Rossetti), the
Church of San Benedetto, the Church of Santa Maria
in Vado, the Church of San Domenico, the Church
of San Paolo, the Church of San Giorgio, the
Renaissance Church of San Cristoforo, The house of
Ludovico Ariosto, erected by himself after 1526.
Ferrara
hosts also some synagogues and a Jewish Museum, in the
heart of the medieval centre.
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