Renaissance city
The walled city of Ferrara is located in the middle of the Padana plain.
Amazingly intact, twisted mediaeval streets follow the course of a river that has long since disappeared. Palazzo Schifanoia shows the grandeur of its past in its magnificent ceilings and in the frescoes in the Sala dei Mesi. These depict scenes from the life of the Duke Borso and feature allegorical representations of the months combining to form one of the most elegant calendars in art of all time.
The centre is a meeting place surrounded by activity and style that is dominated by the buildings of the rich and powerful. There is the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral that is like a story with Universal Judgement as its key and the Este Castle that blends the magnificence of its rooms with dark blood stained memories. The magnificent 18th century Teatro Comunale sits quietly amid the folk doing some window shopping or having a relaxed coffee or silently gliding by on their bicycles.
The best-known image must be that of the Renaissance period during which the Este family contributed greatly to the splendour of the city and left indelible traces of their heritage. Some examples would be the enormous “Herculean Addition” project that vastly enlarged the size of the city; the impressive art works from the 14th and 15th centuries and the Giudizio Universale by Bastianino.
The Renaissance lives on in the white marble and red brick courtyards, in the precisely formed angles where roads intersect at the Quadrivio degli Angeli, in the houses, churches, palaces and in the long spacious streets of the city.
The Po Delta
Going towards the sea, the plain widens out and leads to the Po Delta Regional Park where nature is allowed to flourish uncontaminated. Light and colour refract from slivers of water and continuously change the landscape dotted with magnificent pines bordering wide sandy beaches.
Pomposa Abbey is a masterpiece of Romanesque and Byzantine art and can be seen for miles around with its lofty bell tower that delights visitors today as it did in the past with its incredible colours. It’s almost like finding a secret garden hidden beneath old stones.
Further north, the imposing Este Mesola Castle establishes the Northern borderline of the territory and still seems to echo with the poetry of Torquato Tasso who loved this area so much.
There are many boat tours departing from Goro and Gorino that explore the magic of this natural oasis.
The Po Delta Regional Park
The Po Delta Regional Park was founded in 1998 and is the largest reserve and park in Emilia-Romagna covering some 54,000 hectares of which about 35,000 hectares are the pre-park area and 1,100 are urban areas.
The “Consorzio del Parco Regionale del Delta del Po” have been responsible for running it since 1996 The “Consortium” is made up of the following bodies: the Provinces of Ferrara and Ravenna and the Comunes of Alfonsine, Argenta, Cervia, Codigoro, Comacchio, Goro, Mesola, Ostellato and Ravenna.
History, art and culture
Castello Estense
Ferrara was first mentioned by the Longobard king, Desiderio, in a document dated 753 AD. During the first few centuries of its existence, the city passed through various hands and was a Canossa fiefdom before finally being sufficiently free to declare itself independent. This was followed by years of internal fighting between the Guelfi party led by the Adelardi family and the Ghibelline (imperial) party led by Torelli-Salinguerra. However, in the long run and with considerable difficulty, it was the Este family who were the eventual winners and became the absolute rulers of the city.
The founding of the university in 1391 was the beginning of a great new era of cultural development and splendour that made the Este court one of the most important in Europe.
Some of the greatest students of humanities as well as the most important musicians of that time congregated in the city. Alongside such names as the diplomat Nicholas III, the intellectual Leonello, Borso, Ercole I who was responsible for the “Herculean Addition” to the city and Alfonso the soldier we find the names of princesses like the hapless Parisina Malatesta, the wise Eleonora d’Aragona, the beautiful and much maligned Lucrezia Borgia and the Calvinist intellectual Renata di Francia.
The little state always lived under threat from its powerful neighbours and was taken over by the Papal State in 1598 marking the beginning of a long period of decadence and decline. After the Napoleonic era, Ferrara was a major player in the Renaissance and later Italian Unification movements until finally becoming the modern city it is today. It has never lost touch with its deeply ingrained historical roots.
Information
Ferrara, le mura
Come arrivare a Ferrara
In treno
Trenitalia
numero verde 89.20.21
sito web: www.trenitalia.com
Ferrovie Emilia Romagna
Direzione
Via Zandonai, 4 – Ferrara
Tel. centralino 0532 979311
numero verde 800.91.50.30
sito web: www.fer-online.it
In auto
Autostrade: A 13 – Bologna – Padova; uscite: Ferrara Nord, Ferrara Sud.
sito web: www.autostrade.it
Raccordi autostradali:
a Ferrara sud con la Superstrada Ferrara – Porto Garibaldi e con le Strade Statali “Adriatica” (N.16) per Ravenna, “Porrettana” (N.64) per Bologna – S.Matteo della Decima;
a Ferrara nord con Strade Statali (N. 255) per Modena e “Virgiliana” (N.496) per Mantova.
In pullman
Autostazione: Via Rampari di San Paolo – Tel. 0532 599492
Collegamenti con tutti i comuni della provincia di Ferrara, con Modena e Bologna
In aereo
Aeroporti nelle vicinanze:
“G. Marconi” di Bologna a km. 45
“M. Polo” di Venezia a km. 110
“Catullo” di Verona a km. 100
Rimini a km. 200
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
Ferrara, il Duomo
The Historic Centre of Ferrara was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a shining example of a Renaissance city that has retained its historic centre virtually intact. “The developments in town planning expressed in Ferrara were to have a profound influence on the development of urban design throughout the succeeding centuries”.
In 1999, UNESCO recognition was extended to embrace the Po Delta and the Este ducal residences. The entire property was delineated and nominated Ferrara, City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta in accordance with two criteria:
1 “The Este ducal residences in the Po Delta illustrate the influence of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape in an exceptional manner”.
2 “The Po Delta is an outstanding planned cultural landscape that retains its original form to a remarkable extent”.
From the 23rd report of the World Heritage Committee:
Ferrara, City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta
Inscription N° 733 Bis 1995 – 1999 C (ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)
The Committee approved this extension to the World Heritage site of the City of Ferrara and to inscribe this site on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (iii) and (v), in addition to the already existing criteria (ii), (iv) and (vi):
Criterion (iii): “The Este ducal residences in the Po Delta illustrate the influence of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape in an exceptional manner”. Criterion (v): “The Po Delta is an outstanding planned cultural landscape that retains its original form to a remarkable extent”.
“As requested by the State Party, the Committee decided to change the name of the inscribed property to “Ferrara, City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta”.
