Location: Map
Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, capital of the province of
the same name. In 1995 it was recognized as a World Heritage
Site and in 1999 the recognition was extended to the Po delta
and the Este Delights present in the territory of its province.
Geographic hints
The territory of the municipality of
Ferrara is totally flat. The development of the city is partly
related to the proximity of the river Po which forms the border
with the Veneto region and which is currently just a few
kilometers from the city centre.
The city can be visited at any time of the year also thanks to the many events and exhibitions that are organized and which attract many visitors. Considering the climate, cold and humid in winter and sultry heat in summer, the best time to move around the city is spring or from the end of August to October.
The historic center of Ferrara is full of important and valuable
testimonies, among which the following stand out:
the Estense
Castle (15th century), whose first nucleus dates back to the
13th century
the city walls (16th century)
the Clock Tower
(15th century)
the Cathedral of San Giorgio (12th century)
the Palazzo dei Diamanti (XV-XVI century).
By plane
Airport Bologna Airport (Guglielmo Marconi), Via
Triumvirato 84 (at 45 km.), ☎ +39 051 6479615. There is a
shuttle bus service which directly connects the G. Marconi
airport with the center of Ferrara.
Airport
Verona-Villafranca Airport (Valerio Catullo), Caselle di
Sommacampagna (VR) (100 km away), ☎ +39 045 8095666, fax: +39
045 8619074.
Venice Airport (Marco Polo) (110 km.), ☎ +39 041
2606111.
By car
State and provincial roads
SS16
Adriatic highway 16
SS64 National road 64 Porrettana
SP1
Provincial Road 1: connects Comacchio to Ferrara. Particularly
interesting is the stretch of road between Ostellato and
Comacchio, characteristic for the landscape, where it is still
possible to see stretches of valley on either side of the
roadway or in the immediate vicinity.
SP2 Provincial Road 2:
connects Copparo to Ferrara
SP66 Provincial Road 15: connects
Comacchio to Ferrara passing through Tresigallo. The latter is a
town characterized by several rationalist buildings built
between 1933 and 1939.
SP66 Provincial Road 66: connects
Cento to Ferrara
Highways
A13 Autostrada A13
Bologna-Padova, with exit at Ferrara Nord or Ferrara Sud. The RA
8 motorway link road 8 departs from the latter toll booth,
linking Comacchio with Ferrara.
On the train
train
Ferrara railway station, piazzale della Stazione, between via S.
Giacomo and viale della Costituzione. Trains from Bologna,
Venice, Florence or Rome stop in Ferrara.
In addition to
Trenitalia, Italo high-speed trains also stop at Ferrara
station. For those who like to travel slowly, there are several
connections to places in the Po valley. In fact, the city is
connected to a railway line coming from Ravenna and Rimini, to
another that connects Ferrara with Suzzara and to a railway line
that reaches Codigoro. The latter is part of the FER network.
station Cona Hospital station.
station Ferrara station via
Boschetto.
station Pontelagoscuro station.
station
Quartesana station.
By bus
The city of Ferrara can be
reached by bus from the Flixbus company.
By bike
The
city of Ferrara is connected to Lake Garda through a cycle route
that runs along the Mincio and Po rivers and the city of Mantua.
Once you have reached Ferrara, a large part of the historic
center, in the oldest part of the city, is closed to car traffic
and can be traveled by bicycle without particular problems, but
paying attention to pedestrians. From the city center it is
possible to reach the Destra Po cycling route and reach the
Adriatic Sea.
There are several cycle paths that connect
the city center to the suburbs but these are paths connected in
a fragmented way, so particular attention must be paid to car
traffic.
Destra Po. The Destra Po cycling route is a
route reserved for cycling which develops along the right bank
of the Po river in the province of Ferrara from Stellata to
Gorino and is an integral part of branch no. 2 of the BicItalia
national network. The right Po is connected to the city of
Ferrara with a cycle path that starts from the locality of
Francolino. (123.81km)
By public transport
Emilia Romagna Passenger Transport.
Ferrara Basin Service (TPER). Timetables and routes of urban and
extra-urban lines (regional buses and trains)
By taxi
Radio Taxi Ferrara, ☎ +39 0532 900900.
By car
All the
information and the complete list of free or paid public car
parks can be consulted on the Ferrara TUA website. Below is a
selection of the main car parks recommended for a visit to the
historic city centre:
Rampari San Paolo (Ex MOF), via
Darsena. Free and always free parking. 00:00-24:00. Seats
available: 465 per car; 40 for campers (parking only); 15 for
tourist buses
Historic Center Parking (Piazzale Kennedy), via
Darsena. Mon-Sat (non-holidays) 7:30-00:00 for a fee.
00:00-24:00. 837 seats.
Diamanti parking, via Arianuova.
Mon-Sat (non-holidays) 7:30-00:00 for a fee. 00:00-24:00. 192
seats. Recommended for its proximity to those who want to visit
the National Art Gallery or the temporary exhibitions organized
at the Palazzo dei Diamanti.
San Guglielmo car park, via
Palestro. Mon-Sat (non-holidays) 7:30-00:00 for a fee.
00:00-24:00. 167 seats.
Santo Stefano car park, Via
Boccacanale Santo Stefano. Mon-Sat (non-holidays) 7:30-00:00 for
a fee. 00:00-24:00. 25 places.
By bike
Most of the
monuments are located in the historic centre, so you can easily
get around on foot or by bicycle. The cycle paths are all flat
and easily accessible even for children. Furthermore, a good
part of the walls surrounding the city, about 9 km, can be
covered by bicycle.
There are numerous possibilities for
renting bicycles:
Al Biciclar, Via San Maurelio, 16, ☎ +39
333 9455193. Repair, rental and sale of bicycles and
accessories.
Ceragioli, Piazza Travaglio, 4, ☎ +39 339
4056853. Road bike rental, storage and repair.
LinkToursBike,
Via Garibaldi, 103, ☎ +39 0532 201365. Bike rental and excursion
organization
Pirani e Bagni, Piazzale Stazione, 2, ☎ +39 0532
772190. Bicycle rental, storage, repair and sale of accessories.
Ricicletta, Via Mario Poledrelli, 21 (The activity is located at
the Factory Grisù near the Paolo Mazza stadium), ☎ +39 329
0477971, ricicletta@ilgermoglio.fe.it. Bicycles for hire of
various types (also tandem and taxi bikes), repair and sale.
Todisco Bike, Corso Porta Po, 102 or via del Podestà, 4, ☎ +39
3461394287. Road bike hire.
Ferrara Store (Bike point
belonging to the BiciDeltaPo circuit), Piazza della Repubblica,
23/25, ☎ +39 0532 242759. Road bike hire.
BiciDeltaPo, Via
Sgarbata, 170/172, San Bartolomeo in Bosco, ☎ +39 0532 205456.
Bicycle rental and organization of individual or group
excursions in Ferrara or in the Po delta.
Electric wheels,
Via dei Baluardi, 17, ☎ +39 333 1110293. Traditional or electric
bicycle rental.
MyFE card
For those intending to stay from two to six days in
the city, it is advisable to purchase the MyFE card. This is the
official tourist card of Ferrara which offers a series of
discounts such as free admission to museums: Casa Romei,
Castello Estense, the National Archaeological Museum, the
Cathedral Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Palazzina
Marfisa and the National Art Gallery. There are also discounts
(also on the tourist tax) and reductions for access to services,
events and exhibitions at Palazzo dei Diamanti.
MyFE card
can be purchased at the ticket offices: of the Estense Castle,
Cathedral Museum, Museum of the Risorgimento and Resistance and
Palazzina Marfisa d'Este or online through the Ferrara terra e
acqua tourist portal. The card costs (October 2020):
valid for 2 days: € 15 (tourist tax exemption for 1 night)
validity 3 days € 17 (tourist tax exemption for 2 nights)
validity 6 days € 21 (tourist tax exemption up to 5 nights).
Cathedral of San Giorgio, Piazza della Cattedrale (On foot: 3
minutes from the Estense Castle. By bus: lines n° 1 and n° 9
from the station, C.so Giovecca - Teatini stop (about 300 m).),
☎ +39 0532 207449. Free entry. The Cathedral was built starting
from 1135 and has a façade with three spires with an original
combination of Romanesque and Gothic languages. The main portal
with a depiction of St. George slaying the dragon in the lunette
and scenes from the New Testament in the architrave, both made
by the sculptor Nicholaus, is particularly noteworthy. The
façade is embellished by the prothyrum (original columns and
telamons are kept in the atrium) above which there is a loggia
with a Virgin and Child from 1427 attributed to Michele da
Firenze. On the tympanum we find a 13th century Last Judgment
which recalls those made in French Gothic cathedrals. On the
southern side, which overlooks Piazza Trento Trieste, note the
bell tower covered in marble which is thought to have been
designed by Leon Battista Alberti. Inside the cathedral,
completely rebuilt at the beginning of the eighteenth century,
Bastianino's fresco depicting the Last Judgment inspired by
Michelangelo's in the Sistine Chapel can be seen in the
sixteenth-century apse, designed by Biagio Rossetti.
Church
of Santa Maria in Vado, via Borgovado 3 (it is located about a
hundred meters from Palazzo Schifanoia.). Free entry. One of the
richest churches in the city in pictorial decorations with
various works by Carlo Bonomi on the ceilings of the nave,
transept, choir and apse where the Glory of the Holy Name is
depicted. Of great importance is also the chapel of the Precious
Blood so named for a Eucharistic miracle that took place on
Easter day in 1171.
Church of San Francesco, via Terranuova.
Designed by Biagio Rossetti, it was erected in 1494 on a
pre-existing building, already used by the Franciscans. The
interior can only be partially visited as only the transept with
access from via Savonarola is open.
Church of San Cristoforo
alla Certosa, Via Borso, ☎ +39 0532 232933. Free admission.
Mon-Sun 8.45am-5.15pm. The monastery built in 1452-1461 by duke
Borso d'Este. From 1813 it was transformed into a cemetery. The
church houses paintings by Ludovico Carracci, Agostino Carracci,
Bastianino and other Ferrarese painters of the late sixteenth
century.
Monastery of Sant'Antonio in Polesine, via Gambone
17, ☎ +39 0532 64068. Free donation. The Monastery was founded
by Beatrice d'Este in 1257 and is still used as a convent. Of
great interest are the fourteenth-century frescoes of the Giotto
school located in three chapels located in the church of the
convent.
Church of San Michele del Gesù, Via Borgo dei Leoni
56, ☎ +39 0532 205908. Free admission. It was built for the
Jesuit Fathers in 1570, based on a project by Alberto Schiatti.
Inside you can see the 15th century sculptural group in
polychrome terracotta by Guido Mazzoni representing the
Lamentation over the dead Christ.
Monastery of Corpus Domini,
via Pergolato 4. The monastery houses the tombs of some members
of the Este family.
Church of Santa Francesca Romana, Via XX
Settembre, 47, ☎ +39 0532 1773614. Seventeenth-century church
which houses valuable works of art inside, including a
crucifixion by Ludovico Carracci.
St. Stephen's Church, Place
Saint Etienne. Of medieval origin, it is one of the oldest
churches in the city.
«Flash, spirital palace of diamonds,
and you, made to flock
only poets and duchesses,
o porta de' Sacrati, smile in the
flourishing arch!»
(Giosuè Carducci, To the city of Ferrara)
Castello Estense, Piazza Castello (It is located in the city
center and can be reached on foot from the train station in 15
minutes.), ☎ +39 0532 299233, fax: +39 0532 299279,
castelloestense@comune.fe.it. € 8.00 full price - € 6.00 reduced
price, guided tour € 4 (with the right to a reduced price
ticket). 1 October - 28 February: Tue-Sun 9:30-17:30, 1 March -
30 September Mon-Sun 9:30-17:30. Symbol of the city, it offers a
fairly articulated visit itinerary. Of great interest are the
halls decorated in the sixteenth century, the loggia degli
aranci and it is worth climbing the Torre dei Leoni to enjoy a
view of the city from above. In some rooms of the castle
temporary art exhibitions are hosted.
Town Hall (Palazzo
Ducale), Piazza del Municipio 2, ☎ +39 0532 419111. Admission
free. From Monday to Friday 9.00 - 13.00, Tuesday and Thursday
15.00 - 17.00. Saturday and Sunday closed. First residence of
the Estense family in Ferrara, it is currently the city's town
hall. The palace is accessed via the grand staircase built in
1481 to a design by Pietro Benvenuto degli Ordini. Inside is the
Stanzino delle Duchesse, a small sixteenth-century room whose
walls are completely covered with gilded wood panels painted
with grotesque decorations. The Arengo room is also of great
interest. It is an environment entirely decorated with frescoes
dedicated to the myth of Ferrara which was created by Achille
Funi from 1934 to 1937.
Palazzo dei Diamanti, Corso Ercole I°
d'Este 21, ☎ +39 0532 244949. Palazzo dei Diamanti is one of the
most famous monuments of Ferrara and of the Italian Renaissance.
The palace is often home to high-level art exhibitions. On the
main floor of the building is the National Art Gallery.
Prosperi-Sacrati Palace. The building, begun in 1493, is the
oldest building of the Addizione Erculea and with its position
determined the trend of the bearing axes of the Addizione. It
was built for Francesco da Castello, personal physician of
Ercole I d'Este. Of great artistic interest is the portal
surmounted by a marble balcony supported by cherubs sitting on
the entablature. The interior of the building cannot be visited.
Palazzo Schifanoia (Palazzo della Gioia), Via Scandiana, 23, ☎
+39 0532 244949, fax: +39 0532 203064, arteantica@comune.fe.it.
10€. Tue-Sun 9:30-18:00. Palazzo Schifanoia was erected in 1385
at the behest of Alberto V d'Este, lord of Ferrara until 1393.
The building is the only example still existing today of a
residence intended for entertainment and recreation, once called
a "delizia": the The term "schifanoia" in fact derives from
Schifar or Schivar boredom, to remove the tedium of the pressing
commitments required by the government. The splendid frescoes of
the ducal period and in particular those contained in the room
known as the "Hall of the months" are worth a visit. The walls
are characterized by the presence of twelve sections, where the
twelve months of the year are depicted, interspersed with seven
areas in which scenes of urban or courtly life were painted.
Inside, the collection of Cardinal Giovanni Maria Riminaldi is
exhibited, to whom we owe the creation of the first public
museum collection in the city. The collection consists of marble
sculptures, small bronzes, furnishings, mosaics and paintings
from the 17th and 18th centuries. Furthermore, in the rooms of
the museum itinerary there are various paintings, sculptures,
medals and ceramics that are part of the collections of the
civic museums of ancient art in the municipality of Ferrara.
Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Corso Giovecca, 170, ☎ +39 0532
244949. Full price: €4, reduced price: €2. Tue-Sun 9:30-13:00
and 15:00-18:00. It was built starting from 1559. It was part of
a vast complex of buildings within an area partly used as
gardens. This complex was owned by Francesco d'Este and was
inherited by his daughter Marfisa, married first to Alfonsino
d'Este and then to Alderano Cybo-Malaspina. Marfisa lived here
until her death, refusing to leave Ferrara even after the city
was devolved to the Papal States, when her family moved to
Modena. When Marfisa disappeared, the building became the seat
of the Cybo administration until the mid-eighteenth century;
from then began a slow deterioration of the property, destined
for improper use for a century and a half. In 1938 it became a
museum, collecting works and art objects mainly from the
antiques market. Among the exhibited works, the marble bust of
Ercole I d'Este made by Sperandio Savelli should be mentioned.
House of Ludovico Ariosto, Via Ludovico Ariosto, 67, ☎ +39 0532
244949. Free admission. Tue-Sun 10:00-12:30 and 16:00-18:00. The
building houses on the main floor some relics and valuable
editions of the works of Ludovico Ariosto. The Giorgio Bassani
foundation is located in the rooms on the ground floor. It is
also used for temporary exhibitions or other cultural events.
Palazzo Crema (Palazzo Sacrati Muzzarelli Crema), Via Cairoli,
13 (It is located in the center near the Este castle.), ☎ +39
0532 205091. free. Palace of medieval origin which has undergone
various modifications and renovations over the centuries. It
currently houses the headquarters of the Estense foundation (ex
Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara). The palace is open to the public
for events and temporary exhibitions.
National Art Gallery of Ferrara, Corso Ercole d'Este, 21 (It is
located on the noble floor of Palazzo dei Diamanti and can be
reached on foot in ten minutes from the historic center along
Corso Ercole I d'Este, one of the most evocative streets of
Ferrara. ), ☎ +39 0532 205844, fax: +39 0532 204857,
ga-esten@beniculturali.it. Tue-Sun 10am-5.30pm. The art gallery
collects paintings mostly from the Ferrara school from the
thirteenth to the eighteenth century. These are works from
churches in the city and donations. Of great interest are two
roundels by Cosmè Tura, the Costabili Altarpiece by Garofalo and
Dosso Dossi, the Muse Erato and the Muse Urania from the
Studiolo di Belfiore, the death of the Virgin by Carpaccio.
National Archaeological Museum (Palazzo Costabili known as
Ludovico il Moro), Via XX Settembre, 122, ☎ +39 0532 66299. Full
price €6.00; reduced € 3.00 (from 18 to 25 years); free under 18
years. Tue-Sun 9:30-17:00. Built by Count Antonio Costabili
between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th
century, it preserves frescoed rooms inside, in particular the
so-called Treasure Room by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo and
collaborators is worth a visit. The building currently houses
the National Archaeological Museum which collects a vast
heritage of Greek and Etruscan materials of considerable
importance and beauty from the necropolis of the city of Spina.
Cathedral Museum (Church of San Romano), Via San Romano, ☎ +39
0532 761299, fax: +39 0532 203064, arteantica@comune.fe.it. Full
ticket: €6, reduced ticket: €3 (Jun 2019). Tue-Sun 9:30-13:00
and 15:00-18:00. Located inside the church of San Romano, it
collects valuable works of art such as the panels depicting the
cycle of the months, coming from the no longer existing Porta
dei Mesi, the doors of the cathedral organ painted by Cosmè Tura
and the Madonna of the Pomegranate ( Madonna Silvestri) by
Jacopo della Quercia.
Casa Romei Museum, Via Savonarola,
28-30, ☎ +39 0532 234100, pm-ero.casaromei-fe@beniculturali.it.
Full € 3.00 - Reduced € 1.50. Fifteenth-century private house
built by Giovanni Romei starting in 1442. Inside it preserves
frescoed rooms such as the Sala delle Sibille and the Sala dei
Profeti dating back to the mid-fifteenth century. The building
is used as a museum and collects frescoes, sculptures and
tombstones from buildings in the city.
Civic Museum of
Natural History, Via Filippo de Pisis, 24, ☎ +39 0532 203381.
The museum exhibits collections of zoology, mineralogy, geology,
paleontology and ethnography. A section of the museum is
dedicated to planet Earth.
Museum of the Risorgimento and the
Resistance, Corso Ercole I d'Este, 19 (it is located next to the
Palazzo dei Diamanti), ☎ +39 0532 244949. The Museum contains
materials relating to the Risorgimento, the First World War and
the Resistance.
National Museum of Italian Judaism and the
Shoah (MEIS), Via Piangipane, 79-83, ☎ +39 0532 1912039. The
museum is dedicated to the history of the Jews and the Shoah in
Italy and hosts exhibitions and events. In particular, the
Jewish Book Festival has been taking place in Italy for some
years.
Museo Civico Lapidario, Via Camposabbionario, 1, ☎ +39
0532 244949. The museum, located in the former church of Santa
Libera, collects Roman marbles and pieces from the collections
of Ferrarese scholars.
Palazzo Bonacossi, via Cisterna del
Follo, 5, ☎ +39 0532 232933. Free. The building houses the
headquarters of the management of the Civic Museums of Ancient
Art with an adjoining art library and photo library. The rooms
on the ground floor host temporary exhibitions and cultural
events.
Documentation center of the agricultural world of
Ferrara, Via Imperiale, 265 Fraz. San Bartolomeo in Bosco
(Located a few kilometers from the Ferrara south exit towards
Bologna, after the town of Montalbano, turn left towards San
Bartolomeo in Bosco.), ☎ + 39 0532 725294,
info@mondoagricoloferrarese.it. free. The museum displays
materials on work and life in the Ferrara countryside from the
end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century.
Botanical Garden of the University of Ferrara, Corso Porta Mare
2b (It is located in the garden of Palazzo Turchi di Bagno).
free. The Botanical Garden is an institution of the University
Museum System of the University of Ferrara. The areas dedicated
to the open-air display of plants cover an area of 4,500 square
meters, hosting around 700 species.
Birth of the city (7th and 8th centuries)
The birth of the
city of Ferrara is due to the continuous barbarian invasions
that devastated Voghenza between the 7th and 8th centuries while
the papacy and the exarchate continued to contend for control of
the then episcopal see (while he was bishop, Saint Maurelio,
patron saint of Ferrara with Saint George ). Maurelio, who had
chosen loyalty to the church of Rome, was killed and Voghenza
was no longer a bishopric, moved to Borgo San Giorgio, (the
Ferrariola), on the right bank of the river Po at the castrum
which was on the opposite bank. In the middle of the eighth
century Ferrara, mentioned with this name by Astolfo, returned
to the area controlled by the Lombard king. This first
settlement corresponds to the site of the ancient basilica of
San Giorgio outside the walls.
Romanesque period (from
the 9th to the 12th century)
Ferrara left the Byzantine
sphere of influence and was occupied by the Lombards. Around the
middle of the eighth century, the entire region, which also
included Ravenna, Bologna and Adria, was donated by Pepin the
Short, king of the Franks, to Pope Stephen II. In Europe,
meanwhile, the Germanic nation (with Otto I of Saxony) expanded
its dominion and came to control all of northern Italy.
However, Ferrara remained tied to the Church and Pope John XV,
after the death of Ottone and considering the emergence of new
noble families (including the Canossas), granted the city as a
fiefdom to Tedaldo di Canossa. The primitive defensive
settlement of the Byzantine castrum continued to expand thus
moving the political and religious center from the village of
San Giorgio to the other bank of the Po. In these early stages
the city developed following the course of the river, it was a
linear city, and only later the town began to occupy new
northern areas. In 1135 the bishopric was moved to the new
cathedral of Ferrara, built north of the primitive settlement of
the castrum. The affirmation of distinct powers (religious and
political) combined with the urban structure that was taking
shape concluded this phase of nascent city. In addition to the
new cathedral, the town hall was built, and new roads were built
or enlarged, starting from via Ripagrande and via Capo delle
Volte, which have bordered the left bank of the Po since the
earliest times.
Takeover of power by the Este family
Adelardi and Giocoli (Guelphs) and Salinguerra and Torelli
(Ghibellines) fought each other for a long time since the XIII
century for the control of the city but the marriage of Azzo VI
d'Este with the last Adelardi heir put an end to the struggles;
the Este took power for the Guelph faction. In 1240 Ferrara was
besieged by the Venetians, allied with the Mantuans.
At
the beginning of the fourteenth century the Este family clashed
with Bologna, Mantua and Verona and were threatened in Ferrara
itself. Azzo VIII d'Este asked the Republic of Venice for help,
obtaining reinforcements, but on his death the throne passed to
his nephew Folco II d'Este and not to his son Fresco d'Este, who
was excluded from the succession. Fresco, to support his right
and obtain an official investiture as lord of the city, offered
the feud of Ferrara to Pope Clement V.
Wars with the
Republic of Venice
The pope initially supported the Marquis
Francesco but in 1308 a new war began for the control of large
territories north and south of the Po. The Republic of Venice
declared war on the State of the Church to keep possession of
Castel Tedaldo, an important stronghold of Ferrara . As a
reaction, the papal legates obtained the excommunication of the
Doge of Venice and of all those who supported the occupation of
the city. The conflict had a favorable outcome for the Este
family, but they had to wait until 1332 for power to return
permanently to their hands.
At the end of the 14th
century a new war broke out when Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope
Sixtus IV and lord of Forlì and Imola, attempted to expand his
dominion by forging an alliance with the papal state and the
republic of Venice to take possession of Ferrara. After
alternating military vicissitudes, the peace of Bagnolo was
reached which left Ferrara to the Este family but forced Ercole
I d'Este to cede Rovigo and Polesine to Venice, thus renouncing
the territories north of the Po. In the 16th century Ferrara
returned to war, siding against the Republic of Venice in the
League of Cambrai.
The Council of Basel, Ferrara and
Florence
Ferrara was the seat, between 8 January 1438 and the
beginning of 1439, of an important ecumenical council which had
among its aims the search for dialogue with the Orthodox Church,
the fight against the heresy of the Hussites and the reform of
the Church. The Council moved to Florence following the outbreak
of a plague epidemic.
The mint of Ferrara in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
In Ferrara, when by then
the administrative structure had reached its solidity despite
the political insecurity, a mint became very active and minted
various coins. Among these the first was the Ferrarese or
Ferrarino, called Denaro Ferrarese, which had a higher value
than the other coin minted in that period by the same mint, the
Bagattino. Both coins bore on one side the name of the emperor,
Fredericus, with the letters F.D.R.C. surrounded by the word
IMPERATOR, and on the other side a cross surrounded by the name
FERRARIA.
The following century several other coins were
minted, among these the Quattrino of Ferrara, which on one side
bore for the first time the coat of arms of the municipality and
on the other the effigy of the bishop of Voghenza San Maurelio.
The Estensi from the fifteenth century to devolution
From
their settlement, the Estensi governed the city for almost three
centuries, making it the capital of a small but culturally very
active state. Ferrara began to establish itself in the second
half of the 15th century with the Marquis Leonello d'Este. The
ducal investiture of Borso d'Este in 1471 by the pope was a
fundamental recognition and Ercole I d'Este made the city reach
its maximum splendor by realizing, in 1492, the Addizione
Erculea, the urban project by Biagio Rossetti which made Ferrara
was the first modern city in Europe and which expanded the city
area towards the north on a rational layout, with wide and
straight streets, crossroads also studied from a scenographic
point of view, new squares and large Renaissance palaces. Some
of the most important artists and writers of the time came to
the court such as Piero della Francesca, Pisanello, Leon
Battista Alberti, Andrea Mantegna and Rogier van der Weyden. The
Ferrarese school of painting was born, with Cosmè Tura, Ercole
de' Roberti and Francesco del Cossa. Dosso Dossi, Tiziano
Vecellio, Giovanni Bellini, Matteo Maria Boiardo, Ludovico
Ariosto and Torquato Tasso arrived.
The musician Luzzasco
Luzzaschi was present and when Ferrara became part of the State
of the Church, his pupil Girolamo Frescobaldi was welcomed in
Rome as organist in St. Peter's.
The presence of the
university, already founded in the 14th century with the
authorization of Pope Boniface IX in 1391 and at the request of
Alberto V d'Este, contributed, in those centuries, to bringing
Niccolò Copernico, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus and
Gabriel Falloppio.
The dukedom of Ercole II d'Este, at
the height of Este power, deserves attention for two particular
aspects. The duke's love for artillery led him to make Ferrara a
military power and one of the European capitals in the
production of extremely modern artillery. The greatest expert of
the time arrived in the city, Annibale Borgognoni, creator,
among others, of a masterpiece culverin called the Queen. The
ducal army could therefore count on state-of-the-art weapons for
the times.
Ercole II's wife was then Renata of France and
this made the city a center of diffusion of the Protestant
reform in Italy. John Calvin also arrived in Ferrara, albeit
unofficially, and this was certainly not appreciated by the
Roman Catholic Church.
Jewish presence
The Jewish
community was decisive even before the Este family took power
and the lordship attained ducal rank, but it was certainly in
1492 that an important qualitative change took place. Ercole I
d'Este, in that year, welcomed the Sephardic Jews expelled from
Spain by the Catholic kings. Since then, Jewish culture was
increasingly integrated with that of the city until it became a
fundamental and characterizing part of it.
Even after the
devolution and the creation of the ghetto, the Jewish presence
did not diminish nor did they participate in cultural life.
Isacco Lampronti was proof of this, with his activity during the
eighteenth century. Almost two centuries later, the story of
Renzo Ravenna and Italo Balbo's relations with the Jews
continued to bear witness to this indissoluble bond, and the
work of Giorgio Bassani was its literary expression.
The
devolution to the Papal State and the slow decline from the 17th
to the 18th century
Ferrara returned under the direct control
of the Papal State in 1598 when the lack of legitimate children
of Duke Alfonso II d'Este allowed Pope Clement VIII to regain
possession of the feud. With the devolution it lost its status
of capital to become a simple border city and faced an
inevitable decline. A first sign of the reinstatement of papal
power was the construction of the fortress. This happened by
destroying Castel Tedaldo, the delight of Belvedere and entire
neighborhoods. The fortress was later dismantled during Napoleon
Bonaparte's Italian campaign in 1796, rebuilt in the 19th
century by the Austrians and definitively demolished in 1859,
when Ferrara became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. The
chronicles of the time clarified the real reason for the
construction of the so-called pope's citadel.
Around 1708
the then commander of the garrison of the fortification decided
to demolish the bell tower of the church of San Benedetto. The
reason given was that the bell tower, even if far away, allowed
with its height to see inside the fortified square and
constituted a potential danger. The abbot of San Benedetto
managed to reverse the decision by convincing the papal legate,
Cardinal Casoni. A second serious consequence was the creation
of the Ferrara ghetto which hit the Ferrara Jews hard.
Meanwhile, the Estensi, moving to Modena, had brought with them
part of the works of art, artillery and ducal archives and the
papal state, immediately afterwards, had what remained
transferred to Rome and which could be moved more easily. In
general, economic conditions worsened for the entire population
for many years.
Napoleonic period, Restoration and
Kingdom of Italy in the 19th century
The entry of Ferrara
into the new century is symbolized by the replacement, on the
column in Piazza Ariostea, of the statue of Pope Alexander VII
with that of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The whole century was
full of upheavals and successive takeovers for the city. There
was the expropriation of ecclesiastical property and various
innovations were introduced at the administrative level, greater
justice and freedom were promised but in the meantime the
enrichment of some families at the local level (the Massari and
the Gulinelli) took place. In 1809, supported by the Austrians,
around 6,000 peasants attempted to storm the city. There were
imprisonments, some rioters were shot or guillotined. In 1813
the Austrians returned to Ferrara, Gioacchino Murat resumed it
for just one week, then, in 1815, the Austrians returned in a
more stable way and restored the power of the Papal State under
their control.
A new rebellion in Ferrara got the better
of the papal forces, around 1831, but was once again put down by
the Austrians. Other insurrectionary revolts of limited scope,
combined with partial concessions, took place starting from
1846. A difficult period followed for other causes (nine months
of uninterrupted rainfall, floods and overflows of the Po and a
cholera epidemic) but, at the same time with positive news. The
agricultural vocation of the area was valorised and, in support
of this new emerging economy, the Cassa di Risparmio was founded
in 1838.
On the political level, the end of papal control
was declared in 1849, but the Austrian forces still controlled
the situation and proceeded with arrests and executions. A
fundamental change took place in the two-year period between
1859 and 1861 which, following the plebiscite of the provinces
of Emilia in 1860, led to the accession to the Kingdom of Italy.
In that period Giuseppe Garibaldi also passed through the city,
on his way to central Italy.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the climate that preceded
the outbreak of the First World War was also experienced in
Ferrara. The interventionism of some exponents of the city
bourgeoisie in 1914 also brought Cesare Battisti to the city,
and later, with the outbreak of war, several volunteers left
even if Ferrara remained far from the front, a rear city, little
directly involved in the military operations.
In
Aguscello (where the City of the Boy would later arise) a
military hospital specialized in the treatment of nervous
diseases was operative. Here, for a certain period, various
artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, his brother Alberto Savinio
and Carlo Carrà were employed or hospitalized. De Chirico in
Ferrara then met Filippo de Pisis and also a young woman from
Ferrara to whom he was very close and who remained unknown for a
long time, Antonia Bolognesi, discovered in him her identity
only around 2014.
With the end of the war came difficult
years and union demands grew. The large provincial landed
property, to contain the demands of the laborers supported by
socialism, supported the squadrism of the nascent fascism and
there were several episodes of violence. In this climate the
assassination of Giovanni Minzoni matured and Italo Balbo was
accused of this as instigator (without any criminal consequences
following). The bond between fascism and the local bourgeoisie
became strong and many members of the Jewish community initially
shared these positions. Giorgio Bassani, on the other hand, was
always critical of his fellow citizens for this and in
confirmation of his opposition to him, around 1941, he joined an
anti-fascist group and was imprisoned.
After the regime
took power, an important change took place. Squadrism and open
violence were abandoned, no longer necessary with the opposition
now reduced to silence, and the cultural aspects were
rediscovered, also useful for propaganda purposes. The
historical and artistic heritage of the city was valorised, the
peculiarity of the Estense Ferrara was exalted, while the
greatness of imperial Rome was celebrated on a national level.
Therefore, despite the tragedies produced by fascism (the
numerous victims of squadrism and the annulment of the workers'
movement), for over a decade Ferrara was once again at the
center of national attention with major initiatives and an urban
redevelopment second only to the Addizione Erculea .
Even
before the Fascist racial laws were promulgated, the podestà
Renzo Ravenna resigned from his office because he was Jewish and
then distanced himself from the regime. With the outbreak of the
Second World War, the death of Italo Balbo, the subsequent fall
of fascism and the beginning of the war of liberation, there
were attacks and reprisals. The Federal Igino Ghisellini fell
into an ambush, the anti-fascists were accused and eleven
Ferraresi were shot next to the Estense Castle on November 15,
1943. The Allied bombings brought death and damage to historic
buildings, infrastructures and private homes. For the city, the
war ended with the arrival of the British troops on April 24,
1945.
Emblematic figures of the contradictions
experienced by the city between the two wars were the hierarch
Italo Balbo, first a squad member and violent and then a great
flyer, a friend of the Jews, a statesman and man of culture not
always liked by Benito Mussolini, the fascist and Jewish podestà
Renzo Ravenna , a friend of Balbo, first attentive administrator
of the city and then persecuted by the same regime because he
was Jewish, and Giorgio Bassani, a Jewish, anti-fascist writer,
able to investigate the profound nature of his fellow citizens
and to celebrate with his art the city to which he was bound.
The second half of the 20th century began with
reconstruction and saw a progressive process of urbanization
with the construction of new social housing districts and a slow
abandonment of the countryside accelerated by the modification
of agricultural practices which required less manpower. For the
same reason, many farm laborers emigrated to other countries.
Then there was the crisis of some historic companies such as
Zenith (footwear) and Lombardi (preserves). Building speculation
did not cause too much damage, with the exception of two cases:
the skyscraper in the station area and the Porta Paola area,
access to the city from Bologna.
At the end of the
century (in 1995) the city entered the UNESCO World Heritage
List.
The new century begins with various problems, including the
progressive emptying of the city center linked to a plan for the
decentralization of public offices, the increase in difficulties
in the distribution sector (particularly small shops) and, on
the financial level, the serious crisis of the Cassa di
Risparmio di Ferrara affecting the whole province.
The
pessimistic perception of the citizens of Ferrara regarding the
general conditions of life in the city is a critical aspect that
unites them to many Italians who live in other local realities
and appears more or less amplified according to the quality of
participation in public life and political opinions. In this we
observe analogies with realities such as Turin, Brescia, Ancona,
to name just a few. Themes such as youth unemployment, drug
dealing, security, integration and, in general, trust in the
institutions, condition relations in the Este city.
In
May 2012, the city was hit by the Emilia earthquake which caused
extensive damage but no victims in the municipal area.
According to data confirmed by the Ferrara plain reclamation
consortium, the territory of the province is 44% below sea
level, with depressions exceeding - 4.5 meters in an area
between the Po, the Adriatic Sea, the Reno and the Panaro. The
alluvial origin of the territory and the fact that for centuries
it had been subject to recurring floods led to the first
reclamation works carried out by the Este family (with Borso
d'Este and Ercole I d'Este) in the immediate vicinity of the
city (at Casaglia, Diamantina and La Sammartina) and then to the
intervention in the Polesine of Ferrara, commissioned by Alfonso
II d'Este in 1580, when the historical phase of the Este duchy
was about to end. Among the architects who contributed to the
work was Giovan Battista Aleotti. In a short time, also due to
the lowering of the soil due to subsidence phenomena, many of
the positive results obtained initially were lost and the
reclamations were necessarily repeated (by which time Ferrara
had returned under papal dominion) with the interventions
desired by Pope Gregory XIII , by Pope Clement VIII, by Pope
Innocent X and by Pope Benedict XIV. However, the reclamations
that had a more lasting effect took place later, during the 19th
century, thanks to the new mechanical means available.
The territory, considering its genesis and historical events, is
characterized by numerous artificial canals for the irrigation
and drainage of the countryside, which have been made cultivable
and habitable. It is totally flat with an altitude between 2.4
and 9 m a.s.l. and an area of 405.16 km² (seventeenth
municipality by extension in Italy). It borders to the north
with the Veneto region, in particular with the province of
Rovigo, and to the south with the metropolitan city of Bologna.
The river Po (which over the centuries has changed its
course several times) has influenced the city since its birth
and has conditioned its development. The municipal territory and
a large part of the provincial one constitute an artificially
modified landscape, the result of human action which
materialized in the large reclamation works mentioned. The city
is at an altitude below the average water level of the Po and
the river must be controlled by massive embankments. The
continuous work of the dewatering pumps is needed in order not
to submerge the plain by water and thus allow the waters
deriving from the precipitations to be sent towards the sea
through the numerous artificial canals.
The climatic situation of Ferrara, surveyed by the Ferrara San
Luca meteorological station, shows a naturally variable spring
in its first part, with winter tailspins, followed by pleasant
days without peaks in temperature, while rainfall is frequent.
Summer is hot and muggy, often interrupted by even violent
storms, with hailstorms and a temporary drop in temperature.
With the Azores anticyclone, sunny and warm days arrive, with
average temperatures for the period. With the African
subtropical anticyclone, waves of intense heat arrive, with a
high humidity rate for several weeks: on the hottest days it can
exceed 40 degrees, as happened for example in August 2017.
Autumn is very cool, humid and rainy. In its second part it
begins to be stiff and with almost winter characteristics. Fog
usually arrives in the morning and evening hours due to the
conformation of the soil which leads to air stagnation.
Winter is decidedly harsh, with medium-sized rains and snowfalls
and the frequent presence of fog. In January the minimum
temperature stands at an average of -0.9 °C and the maximum
around +4 degrees. The average temperature in January is +1.6
°C. With high pressure, night-time thermal inversion can bring
the temperature significantly below zero, causing extensive and
intense frosts. During the day, in the presence of fog, the
temperature remains close to zero. The cold eastern currents can
bring the Burian from the Russian steppes, which causes heavy
snowfalls or sunny but freezing days.
In historical times, the city has experienced two major and
devastating seismic events, the Ferrara earthquake of 1570 and
the more recent Emilia earthquake of 2012. The latter reached a
maximum magnitude of 5.9 with its epicenter in the neighboring
municipalities of the province of Modena. There were then many
minor tremors, one of magnitude 5.1 in the municipality of
Vigarano Mainarda and one of magnitude 4.0 within the municipal
area. Numerous public buildings were rendered unusable and
serious damage was done to the artistic heritage, school
buildings, university, hospital and churches. A lot of damage
was also suffered by thousands of civilian homes with about
1,135 displaced persons.
The seismic classification
places the territory of Ferrara in seismic zone 3 (low seismic
danger, with possible modest tremors).
There are no certain sources on the etymology of the name Ferrara even if it seems very probable that it was not born in Roman times and therefore appeared later, in the Middle Ages. After all, the city was born relatively late compared to other nearby settlements such as Ravenna, Spina and Voghenza. The biblical derivation is also groundless; no Ferrato is ever mentioned in the sacred text. It is also mythical that the city was founded by a certain Marco who would have arrived here accompanied, among others, by a Trojan girl named Ferrara. One would like the image of this girl to be the one that appears carved on the minor door of the cathedral, on the right, and formerly called Madonna Frara. It has been thought of the iron that was worked in the area or that the name came from spelled, the cereal widely used by the Romans and abundant in the Ferrara area; Farraria, that is land where spelled is grown. Another assumption is linked to the important fairs that were held in the area twice a year. The place where these took place was called Feriarum area (fair square). What is certain is that the first episcopal see which arose after the forced transfer from Voghenza was called Ferrariola (Forum Alieni) and that shortly after, in the 7th century, the Castrum Ferrariae, more commonly known as the Byzantine Castrum, was founded.