Route 1
Ferrara
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Via Vignatagliata
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Castello Estense
Palazzo Municipale
Piazza Municipale
Cattedrale
Chiesa di San Paolo
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M
A
B
C
D
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Pale
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Marti
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Pisis
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Vi a D
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Vi a
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Via B
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Leoni
The Historic Centre
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Scie
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Via delle Volte
Palazzo Paradiso
Sinagoghe - Museo Ebraico
Corso Giovecca
Teatro Comunale
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va
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The tour starts from Piazza Savonarola.
To one side we have the Este Castle
(A). This fortress was built in 1385
and became home to the Dukes of
Ferrara for many years to come.
Its imposing size is somewhat
offset by its marbled balconies.
Piazza Savonarola,
The interior is highly varied and
Monument to
ranges from the squalid dungeons
Girolamo Savonarola
where Guilio d’Este and Ugo and
Parisina were kept to luxurious
upper areas like the Stemmi and Governo rooms and the appartamento
dello Specchio.
On one corner of the Piazza we
see a gateway flanked by marble
pillars. In the past, boats that had
navigated the River Po would tie
up at the steps here to unload their
cargo.
Via
le C
avo
ur
Girolamo Savonarola was born in
1452 and was brought up by his
grandfather, Michele who was court
doctor to the Este family. He became
a Dominican friar in Bologna in 1475
and returned to Ferrara to finish his
studies in theology. On completion,
he was transferred to San Marco’s
monastery in Florence.
He never broke off his close contact
with Ferrara and he always stayed
in touch with the very devout Duke
Ercole I d’Este. Savonarola was on
a collision course with the corrupt
Pope Alessandro VI Borgia who
excommunicated him in 1497. He was
sentenced to death and was hanged
and his body then burned in Piazza
della Signoria on 23 May 1498.
B
C
Cors
o
Facing the castle sits the Ducale
Palace that is now the Town Hall,
the side of which presents a 16th
century marble portico.
Marti
ri dell
a Lib
ertà
A
In the centre of the piazza stands a statue to Girolamo Savonarola
that was erected in 1875. This great philosopher is depicted preaching,
his feet however rest on a bed of branches and twigs that represent the
burning of his body after he was hanged.
D
Este Castle and Ducal Palace
The two buildings were linked by a third known as the Via Coperta
supported by arches. Originally this served as a passageway that would
connect the castle to the fortress in the event of an uprising. The first
floor was embellished with a marble balcony attributed to Tiziano.
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The third side of the Piazza is crossed by Corso Martiri della Libertà, a
short but important thoroughfare that was named after some rather bleak
events that took place during WWII (see the memorial plaque along
the moat wall). A book by Bassani and a film by Florestano Vancini
(La lunga notte del ’43) were dedicated to the story of the martyrs.
Going towards the cathedral,
you will see the magnificent
Arcibishop’s Palace on the
left. This was built in the early
1700’s by the Roman Mattei
for Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo di
Calabria who was head of the
church in Ferrara at that time.
The 18th century façade of the
Town Hall faces the cathedral.
Arcibishop’s Palace
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A short distance along the way is the
Piazza della Cattedrale that is dominated
by the façade of the Duomo (D). The
cathedral is dedicated to the city’s patron
saints, George and Maurelius. The lower
part of the façade is Romanesque style
while the upper parts are Gothic. The
cathedral entrance is decorated with
Corso Martiri della Libertà
a lunette depicting St.George and the
Dragon below which are scenes from the New Testament. A loggia
with a 15th century statue of the Virgin Mary overlooks the entrance.
Above the loggia sits a superb 13th century bas-relief depiction of the
Last Judgement. Scenes from Heaven and
Hell decorate the side windows. Lower
down two statues recount the history of
the city: inside a recess on the right sits
a statue of the marquis Alberto d’Este and
on the left, a stone plaque gives details of
the transition of Ferrara to Papal dominion
(1598). This is overlooked by a bronze bust
of Pope Clement VIII. The interior houses
Monument to Niccolò III
numerous artistic works from different
periods that were created by artists such as
Garofalo, Guercino, Bastianino, Domenico di Paris, Niccolò Baroncelli
and the well-known Canozi carpenters from Lendinara. Facing the
cathedral sits the neo-medieval Town Hall (B) that was built in Gothic
style in the early 1900’s. The Torre della Vittoria is named after the
beautiful statue of Vittoria del Piave, by Arrigo Minerbi that is located
in a lower room accessible from the Piazza. Nearby is a long arched
passageway known as the Volto del Cavallo because of the mounted
Piazza Municipale
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statue of Niccolò III d’Este to the right overlooking an arch that has been
attributed to Leon Battista Alberti. On the other side of the arch above, a
sturdy column bears the seated figure of the Duke Borso d’Este.
On examining this door surround you will notice the
Comune coat of arms (black and white with the Ducal
crown) beneath which is an inscription dedicated to
Pope Innocent XII. The Papal coat of arms that existed
earlier was erased in Napoleonic times like many other
symbols of “inequality” but nobody thought of erasing
the Pope’s name that now marks the town’s insignia
Passing under the
arch, you enter the Piazza Municipale (C),
the former court of
honour of the Ducal
Palace that is dominated by the magnificent Scalone d’Onore
Cathedral
(stairway of honour)
built by Pietro Benvenuto degli Ordini. These steps blend the Gothic Medieval elements like
the Venetian style marble banisters with other obviously Renaissance
style elements like the arches and the dome. The wing alongside the
stairway presents elegant marble windows that denote the position of the
living quarters of many Duchesses from the past and the most famous
of whom was no doubt Lucrezia Borgia. Federico da Montefeltro, the
famed leader and Duke of Urbino died in the same apartment. Ercole I
had summoned him during a fearsome war
against the Venetians, to lead the Ferrarese
army and, Montefeltro who had been seriously wounded at the Stellata fortress, was
brought to the Ducal Palace where even the
best attempts to cure him were in vain.
A large marble surround now denotes the
entrance to the communal theatre that was
once the Ducal Church of Santa Maria di
Corte.
Statue of Alberto d’Este
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One side of the cathedral flanks the spacious
Piazza Trento e Trieste that is home to
many artistically and historically significant
buildings. One complete side of the Piazza
is taken up by the southern aspect of the
cathedral and features a long portico with
shops under the arcade and long rows of
Piazza Trento Trieste
wonderful little arches above them. In the
centre of the cathedral side wall is what remains of the ancient side entrance
for worshippers, the Door of the Months. A little further along stands the
pink and white marble bell tower designed by L.B. Alberti. The cathedral
apse by the renowned Ferrarese architect, Biagio Rossetti, is well worth
noting. On the opposite side of the piazza is a palazzo built in the 1900’s by
Marcello Piacentini that replaced the old Palazzo della Ragione destroyed
by bombing during WWII. The huge arches bear the same memorial tablets
that were on the façade
of the old building.
The piazza closes with
the former Oratorio di
San Crispino that was
home to shoe-makers
in the past and features
a medieval portico and
a neo-classical façade
that was refurbished
Former Oratorio di San Crispino
in the 1800’s.
Along the South side of the piazza, the wall
of the former Church of San Romano
with its brick façade and marble portal
represent the blessed knight after whom the
church is named. The church and adjacent
buildings are now home to the Cathedral
Museum that houses many very significant
works including the Months panels that
came from the destroyed cathedral door.
Other works include the Madonna of the
Pomegranate, by Jacopo della Quercia, the
superb Annunciation and St. George and
the Dragon panels by Cosmè Tura, 16th
Cathedral Museum:
Madonna of the pomegranate
century tapestries and miniated books.
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Via San Romano begins at the
church and played an important
role in medieval Ferrara. The
street ran from the market place in
Piazza Trento e Trieste to the banks
of the River Po that at that time
flowed south of the city. It was an
ancient trading street and the only
one in Ferrara that was completely
arcaded along its full length. The
little Church of Suffragio, to be
found at street number 64, houses
some interesting works and an organ
dating back to 1551.
Via San Romano
Via Vaspergolo leads to the Church of San Paolo (E) that is one of the
city’s most important churches. Over the years, it has been refurbished
many times and was finally rebuilt after the 1570 earthquake by the
architect Alberto Schiatti, after whom the piazza in front of the church
is named. The splendidly decorated interior houses a number of
important pictures by Bastianino, Girolamo da Carpi and Scarsellino.
There are two very striking cloisters of the ancient monastery.
Church of San Paolo
A little beyond the church in Corso Porta Reno is the bell tower that
was recovered from an ancient noble tower belonging to the Ghibelline
Leuti family.
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Via delle Volte
Via delle Volte (F) is without any doubt
the most fascinating street in Ferrara
and a symbol of the city. It was where
traders stored their wares in medieval
times. A long stretch of the street is
covered overhead by vaults that connect
the two sides of the street and give it its
unmistakeable character and appearance.
The former Church of San Giacomo is
located at the start of Via del Carbone and
features a splendid red brick façade.
The poet Vincenzo Monti lived in the house across the road for many
years.
Via Mazzini formerly known as Via dei Sabbioni was the main
thoroughfare of the Jewish ghetto which took in the adjoining Via
Vittoria and Via Vignatagliata. The Synagogues and Jewish Museum
(H) are located at number 95.
The church is now home to a cinema but in the past was owned by
the Knights Templar who in 1118 used the church as the final resting
place for their Grand Master and one of the order’s founder figures,
Ugo de’ Pagani. The men who were to be created knights of the
Order of St. James in Campostela spent their vigil at arms in this
church.
There is a beautiful house with an intact medieval façade at number
15. The house belonged to a branch of the Ariosto family and a plaque
displays the verses written by the great Ludovico on the death of his
friend and relative Pandolfo Ariosto who lived there.
The street ends in front of the Church of Santa Agnese that is one of the
oldest in Ferrara and has been the university chapel since 1936.
Palazzo Paradiso (G) is located
in Via delle Scienze and while
at one time belonging to the
Este family, it became the centre
of the university from the 16th
century until the 1960’s when
the Rectorate moved to another
location. The building now houses
the Biblioteca Ariostea, The
Anatomy Theatre (18th century)
and the tomb of Ludovico Ariosto
(17th century).
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Palazzo Paradiso
Synagogue
Many of the houses in Via Mazzini display wonderful terracotta eaves
and numbers 14 to 34 in particular vaunt the extremely rare Gothic
style.
At the end of the street on a side wall of the former
Oratorio di San Crispino above the left arch is a
plaque that recalls the setting-up of the ghetto - it is
dated MDCXX… (162…) but the last digit has faded
and is no longer legible and thus, in the absence of
other documentation, the exact date when the gates
that separated Jews from Christians were built, is
unknown. The date however was delayed as much as
possible and the their erection only took place when
Papal authorities overruled the Este family. Indeed,
under the dukes of Ferrara, Jews were free to live
wherever they chose.
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Via Canonica and Via Bersaglieri del Po are behind the cathedral
and lead to Corso Giovecca (I), one of the city’s main thoroughfares
that runs from the Castello Estense to the city walls. It was built at the
end of the 1400’s to replace the destroyed medieval walls. The Museo
dell’Illustrazione is located in Via Girolamo Frescobaldi which is on
the right hand side of Corso Giovecca going towards the Castle.
Piazzetta Sant’Anna
On the left lies the 17th century
Church of Teatini that although not
having a façade houses an elegant,
classical interior. The third altar on
the left displays the Presentation
of the Virgin in the Temple, by
Guercino (1654).
In front of the church sits the
Palazzo Magnanini - Roverella,
attributed to Biagio Rossetti, that
displays a richly decorated marble
and terracotta façade.
Turning into Via Boldini takes you straight into Piazzetta Sant’Anna,
that is surrounded on three sides by porticos and the façade of an
ancient church. The building was part of the old hospital complex
where Torquato Tasso was a patient for many years (see the plaque on
the Corso Giovecca façade).
Nearby is another more modern piazza designed by Carlo and Girolamo
Savonuzzi and built in 1931. The twin Conservatoire and Civic
Museum of Natural History, easily recognised by the clock tower, are
directly facing the “Alda Costa” primary school and offer the visitor a
vast display of animals, insects, fossils and minerals.
Palazzo Roverella
Among the many people who lived in the Palazzo,
perhaps Donna Gracia Nasi Mendes was the bestknown in terms of Jewish history. While still young,
this Portuguese widow of a rich banker left her native
country where anti-semitism was ever on the increase.
Using her own money and financial acumen she helped
thousands of Jews to leave the country in search of
safety.
She lived in Ferrara for several years under the
protection of Ercole II d’Este. When it reached the
stage that not even the duke could protect the Jews
any more, she accepted the invitation made to her by
the Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. When she finally
arrived in Istanbul, she was welcomed with honour.
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On the right, the final
part of Corso Giovecca
features the Church of
San Carlo by Giovan
Battista Aleotti and is a
superb example of eliptical plan 17th century
Baroque architecture.
The 18th century Teatro
Comunale (L) is on the
other side of the road.
Church of San Carlo
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