Art and culture
Casa Minerbi - Dal Sale
A jewel of Ferrara’s historical heritage, the recently restored Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale is an architectural complex which stands because of the fascinating dialogue between ancient and modern, immediately perceptible in the internal areas where fourteenth century pictorial cycles can be admired connected to contemporary spatiality created between 1957 and 1963 by architect Piero Bottoni from Milan.
Casa Romei
Giovanni Romei became administrator to the lords of Ferrara and married the princess Polissena d’Este. On the Via di San Francesco he had a house built that showed his high ranking.
Cathedral
The cathedral of Ferrara dates from the 12th century and bears witness to all the historical periods of the city. The outstanding façade, divided into three sections, was begun in Romanesque style, still visible in the lower part. CLOSED FOR RESTORATION.
Cathedral Museum
The Cathedral Museum of Ferrara is sited in the ex church of San Romano. It forms part of the Civic Museums of Ancient Art and mostly holds objects belonging to the Cathedral.
Charterhouse
The Charterhouse, built by Borso d’Este in 1461, was transformed into a monumental cemetery at the beginning of the 1800s and conserves important sculptures.
Church of Gesu'
Built for the Jesuits in 1570 to the design ofthe architect Alberto Schiatti, the church has a simple and austere brick façade, divided into two sections and with three portals decorated with marble.
Church of S. Domenico
The Dominican complex, composed of the church and the large monastery, little of which still exists, was located exactly on the line that divided the medieval city from the Renaissance one.
Church of San Francesco
The church, erected in 1594 on a pre-existing Franciscan complex, the church is a masterpiece of the architect Biagio Rossetti.
Church of San Giorgio
The presence of the church, dedicated to the patron saint of the city, is documented as long ago as the 10th century.
Church of San Paolo
The building was reconstructed in its present-day form after the earthquake of 1570 by the architect Alberto Schiatti. The ex-convent with two elegant cloisters still stands alongside it.
Church of Santa Maria in Vado
Of ancient origins, the church was built near a ford (vado in Italian) that crossed one of the many canals that intersected the area.
Corso Ercole I d'Este
It was called Via degli Angeli after the church of St. Mary of the Angels that once rose at the end of it.
Corso Giovecca
This street, built by Biagio Rossetti by demolishing the old walls, forms the link between the Medioeval city to the south, and the Addizione Erculea to the north,...
Estense Castle
In Ferrara in 1385, a dangerous revolt convinced Niccolò II d’Este of the need to erect mighty defences for himself and his family thus the Castello di San Michele was built, a fortress erected against the people.
Ferrara, town of the Renaissance and its Po Delta
UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, included the territory around Ferrara in its lists on two separate occasions.
Giovanni Boldini Museum
TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Re-opening after restoration. The Boldini Museum is dedicated to the Ferrarese painter who lived between 1842 and 1931.
House of Ludovico Ariosto
The house, probably built to the design of Girolamo da Carpi, has a simple but elegant brick façade.
Jewish Ghetto
In the heart of the medieval city lies the ghetto, an area which conserves the memories of the centuries-old Jewish Community of Ferrara and where the same community was from 1627 to 1861.
Lapidary Museum
The Lapidary Museum, housed in the ex-church of Santa Libera, has a rich collection of Roman works in marble from the province of Ferrara. TEMPORARILY CLOSED
MEIS Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah
The exhibit "Jews, An Italian Story. The First Thousand Years" communicates the uniqueness of Italian Jewish history, describing how the Jewish presence in Italy was formed and developed throughout the Peninsula from the Roman Age (second century BCE) to the Middle Ages (tenth century CE) and how the Jews of Italy built their own unique identity, even when compared to other places in the diaspora.
Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery
The Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery houses important, prestigious temporary exhibitions organised in collaboration with Ferrara Arte,...
Monastery of Corpus Domini
The monastery stands in the old part of the city, at the centre of a maze of narrow streets, in one of medieval Ferrara's smartest areas, just a stone's throw from San Francesco and the palace once owned by the Este family.
Monastery of Sant'Antonio in Polesine
Set in the heart of the medieval city, the monastery still gives the sense of isolation and tranquillity it did during its early years, when it stood upon an island in the middle of the Po.
Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza
The museum guests rare and precious testimonies of the partecipation of the ferraresi patriots in the epic deed of the Italian Risorgimento.
Museo dell'Ottocento
TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Re-opening after restoration. The Museum of the Ottocento begins with three rooms chiefly dedicated to religious subjects (Giovanni Pagliarini Madonna and Child) and historical ones (Gaetano Turchi Torquato Tasso in Sant’Anna).
Museum of Casa Romei
Giovanni Romei became administrator to the lords of Ferrara and married the princess Polissena d’Este. On the Via di San Francesco he had a house built that showed his high ranking.
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art 'Filippo De Pisis'
TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Re-opening after restoration. Exposition begins with two works by Mario Sironi: Justice and Mural Composition.
Museum of Natural History
The museum offers the visitor a broad review of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, invertebrates and insects covering branches of the natural sciences such as zoology (the ornithological collection is particularly well-endowed) and entomology.
Museum of Palazzo Schifanoia
Situated in the 14th-century wing of the Palazzo Schifanoia since 1898, it houses works of a various nature including paintings, manuscripts, small bronzes, objects in ivory and decorated ceramics. CLOSED FOR RENOVATION ON ANTI-SEISMIC MEASURES.
