For info: Running Club Comacchio - runningclubcomacchio@gmail.com - Cell. 335 8187063
]]>The route continues, taking the Argine degli Angeli, the spectacular 5.4-kilometer-long footbridge over the water leading up to the Bellocchio Fishing Station. Upon crossing the Romea state highway via an underpass, visitors arrive at the Lido di Spina. They come to the ferry connecting with Porto Garibaldi by continuing along the Lido degli Estensi seafront. One can reach Comacchio center and end the tour by taking two possible alternative routes. One can first proceed along the embankment that leads up to the Salt Pans from the Lido degli Estensi, where lively colonies of aquatic birds, including the splendid pink flamingos, find refuge. Alternatively, starting from the Porto Garibaldi port canal, one continues along the bike path along Via Marina.
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To the point of designing a grandiose nautical carousel to be operated at night in honour of Charles of Austria, brother of the Emperor. The carousel was conceived by the scholar Giovan Battista Pigna with the architect Pirro Ligorio responsible for its sophisticated stage effects. Imagine the canal of the Montagnola right against the walls completely filled with water. On it floated castles to be attacked, dragons to slay, small boats of armed knights, and flaming iron fountains to illuminate the scene. Isola Beata, they called it, and so be it if a few participants drowned during the spectacle.
On the day of 25th May, for many days prior having prepared a game or frolic to take place in the water at the Montagnola as part of an attack against an enchanted castle, which had to defend itself from adventurous knights... Here is the testimony of a chronicler who was present. [Ippolito Roberti, Cronichetta]
And totally surrounded by water was the stage set par excellence of the Este court: the river island of Belvedere. Here, amid pleasurable entertainment, theatrical productions of Ariosto and Tasso and exotic gardens, the court enjoyed physical well-being and sensory delights in a reflection of itself.
A few hundred metres away, travellers on the Po River near Ferrara would come upon another island - with the opposite effect. No echoes of aristocratic celebrations were heard here. Only silence and desperation shrouded the last hours of the lives of the inhabitants of the Boschetto, where plague victims were quarantined.
Separated by just a few pulls of an oar, the sublime and the wretched, the high and low – as Balzac would say – occupied the same water...
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The Duchy of Ferrara, with good reason, was defined as a “hydraulic” State. In the Renaissance, as today, everyone was aware of how water could be an extraordinary source of wealth and a privileged means of communication.
Walking along the streets of Ripagrande and Carlo Mayr, it seems incredible that centuries ago there flowed a branch of the great river transporting goods and illustrious guests.
He accompanied him on the waterway to the Torre della Fossa, where the canal opens out onto one of the branches of the Po, which flows majestically four miles from Ferrara; and only a secondary branch, the Po of Ferrara, touches the city, where it splits into Volano and Primaro.
It is thanks to the painstaking study of innumerable documents of the epoch that Ferdinand Gregorovius was able to reconstruct the journey to Ferrara of Lucrezia Borgia, the famed daughter of Pope Alexander VI and the new bride of the future duke, Alfonso I d’Este. Leading up to the sumptuous bridal procession, one of the most splendid triumphal entries of the Renaissance, the waterways accompanied the fears and expectations of a young woman to the landing at Castel Tedaldo.
But for the noblewomen who arrived, others waved goodbye. It would be the waters of the Po to separate Isabella and Beatrice, daughters of Ercole I d’Este and Eleonora d’Aragona from the court and their loving family. All of Ferrara saw them embark on elegant ceremonial barges that were headed to Mantua and Milan.
Solemnly navigating towards a new future, intent on exporting the cultural model of the House of Este.
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“At the end of autumn, His Highness with the Madam Duchess, and other gentlemen and gentlewomen of the city, go to the marina, where among the delightful residences above the harbour of Goro, in a wood called the Mesola, he has built a sumptuous palace” [Annibale Romei (1586)]
If we think of a monument symbolising an epoch, what usually comes to mind is a heap of stones. But that is not the case. Water, exactly like stone, was a building block of the great architectural works of the Este family.
You can count on one hand the courtly Renaissance residences surrounded by water. When Castelvecchio was erected by the Este in 1385, water guaranteed the separation of the fortress from the people, who increasingly posed a threat. When this massive structure was turned into an elegant residence, the moat remained so that the water would continue to mirror the beauty of an entire court.
Once this challenge was overcome, water would allow the building of the “Delizie Estensi” in the hunting grounds and countryside made fertile by land reclamation; these were residences for entertainment purposes used to mark the territory and provide luxurious accommodations for an itinerant court. To reach these splendid residences, princes, noblemen and women made use of a network of waterways designed by the expert hydraulic engineers of the court.
And finally, we have the last utopian project of Alfonso II d’Este that revolved entirely around water. Alfonso, fearing the loss of Ferrara, had the illusion of constructing the largest Mediterranean city ever built on an island at the mouth of the Po. What is left is only its nucleus, the Castello della Mesola: the outpost for governing Adriatic commerce and testament of a new Atlantis we can only begin to imagine today.
Viewing the profile of the water on the horizon from dry land...
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“The water is of such immensity and greatness to be almost unfathomable, and contained in three places: the bowels of the earth, upon it, and above the skies”. So wrote Giovan Battista Aleotti, the eminent hydraulic architect of Alfonso II d’Este, in his work, "Hidrologia" (Hydrology).
But the same greatness of the State ruled by the Este family was inextricably linked to the power of water, the emergence of the village on the island of San Giorgio, and to the splendours of the Renaissance court. Water was a vital element around which an entire civilisation was formed.
Controlled and contained through the efforts of man, who reclaimed and redirected the course of the great Po River, water would become a precious ally of the communities and states of the Po River Valley to ensure prosperity and economic development of the territory.
Travelled by convoys of merchant vessels and grand ceremonial barges alike, water was the preferred communication link for the men and women of the Renaissance, able to establish connections between principles, culture, manners, products and identity.
An integral part of the city’s fabric, used for both practical functions and social events, water was often transformed in backgrounds by the Este family for lavish ceremonies and princely entertainment as a means to express its power.
]]>More than 5 km long, the route offers a unique look at the lagoons and an exceptional opportunity to observe them from an extraordinary perspective. Indeed, visitors immerse themselves in the serene yet fragile lagoon landscape by walking or cycling along the embankment. Thus, they will enjoy the sight of myriad seagulls and sea swallows, the white “angels” dwelling on the surrounding islets that have emerged from the waters.
The Argine degli Angeli owes its name to the “dosso degli Angeli”, the large ancient sandbar that once emerged from the waters in this area. Consequently, it is an incredible opportunity to enjoy an enthralling experience enveloped in the embrace of an evocative natural landscape.
Embankment access is only by bicycle and on foot. In addition, if kept on a leash, our four-legged friends can accompany us through the two gates at either end of the path.
Seasonal timetables regulate when the gates are open: 20 March–20 September, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 21 September–19 March, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Access and entry times may change due to environmental needs, fishing activities, and adverse weather conditions.
]]>FRIDAY 16th JUNE 2023 at 9.00pm
Basilica of San Cassiano
THE EVENING SONG "NUNC DIMITTIS"
EVEN | Estense Vocal Ensemble-Conductor Riccardo Bovina
GP da Palestrina, H. Schutz, H. Purcell, F. Mendelsshon, G. Holst, A. Part
SUNDAY 18th JUNE 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
WLADIMIR MATESIC
Holder of the Chair of Organ of the "G. Frescobaldi" Conservatory of Ferrara
J.S. Bach
SUNDAY 25th JUNE 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
JACOPO ZANINI Organist of the Basilica of S. Francesco in Ferrara
D. Zipoli - J.S. Bach - F. Fenaroli - C.A. Franck
THURSDAY 29th JUNE 2023 at 9.00pm
Pronao Museo Delta Antico
STRING ENSEMBLE
Civic School of Music of Comacchio
A. Vivaldi, A. Corelli, J. Pachelbel., W.A. Mozart
SUNDAY 2nd JULY 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
ALESSANDRO NADALINI
Organist of the Parish Church of S. Silvestro in Crevalcore (Bologna) G. Frescobaldi-J. Pachelbel - D. Zipoli -F. Mendelssohn
SUNDAY 9th JULY 2023 at 11.30pm
Basilica of San Cassiano
JOHN LOCHE
Organist of the Collegiate Church of Portomaggiore (FE)
D. Buxtehude - J.S. Bach
SUNDAY 16th JULY 2023 at 9.00pm
Carmine church
VOICES FOR MARY
Vittore Veneziani Choral Academy - Director Teresa Auletta F. Biebl-R. Brisotto J. Bust LG. From Viadana - R. Dubra - E. Esenvalds
M. Mendoza-L Molfino-1. Pizzetti-J. Rheinberger - V. Veneziani
SUNDAY 23rd JULY 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
DANIELE TESSARO Organist of the Cathedral of Castelfranco Veneto (TV)
G. Bélier G. Paolucci D. Buxtehude - J. S. Bach - Anonymous from the Venetian 18th century
SUNDAY 30th JULY 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
FRANCESCO ZAGNONI
Organist of the Parish Church of San Bartolomeo di Silla (Bologna)
G. Frescobaldi - D. Buxtehude - G.B. Martini - G. Morandi - Father David of Bergamo
SUNDAY 6th AUGUST 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
GIUSEPPE GUIDI Titular organist of the Co-cathedral Basilica of S. Cassiano - Comacchio
J.B. Bach - Father Narciso of Milan - J.F. Dandrieu - C. Balbastre
SUNDAY 13rd AUGUST 2023 at 9.00pm
Basilica of San Cassiano
SACRED MUSICAL SPLENDORS OF BAROQUE EUROPE.
MICHELE SANTI, BRUNO BOCCI, MARCO MUZZATI, MARCO ARLOTTI
SUNDAY 20th AUGUST 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
RICCARDO GALLI
Organist of the Church of S. Agostino - Terre del Reno (FE) J. S. Bach - G. Frescobaldi - G. Valeri
SUNDAY 27th AUGUST 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
KIM FABBRI
Holder of the piano chair at the Comprey J. Pachelbel-G. B. Martini - J. S. Bach - A. Vivaldi
SUNDAY 3rd SEPTEMBER 2023 at 11.30am
Basilica of San Cassiano
GABRIELE MARTIN
Organist of the church of S. Giacomo di Burana (FE) T. Grünberger G. Fabris - S. Karg-Elert-G. Frescobaldi - G. Ship
Let me introduce myself: Messer Ludovico Ariosto in person, “chivalric poet” and, for many years, functionary of his Lordship Cardinal Ippolito I d’Este and then of Duke Alfonso I d’Este in the early 16th century.
I am also the poet who wrote Orlando Furioso, the epic poem that is one of the most important of chivalric romance and today considered the encoder of romantic literature. I worked on it for over thirty years, with great passion, in this magnificent city - Ferrara - which I consider my home. I was born in Reggio Emilia on September 8, 1474 and aged 9 moved with my family - my father Niccolò, my mother Daria and my nine siblings - to Ferrara, to 29 Via Giuoco del Pallone. I lived there for my entire adolescence and later, between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, I enjoyed what was, undoubtedly, the most carefree period of my life, when I entered the court of Ercole I in 1498.
There I was treated like part of the family and could focus on writing poetry in vernacular, my greatest passion. In 1528, when I was over fifty years old, I became part of the Consiglio dei 12 Savi (Council of 12 Wise Men) and started directing the first repertory theatre in Europe, the Sala Grande di Corte, under the patronage of Alfonso I d’Este. Located inside Palazzo Ducale, the wooden theatre hosted the rich theatrical activity of the Este court until December 31, 1531, when the entire building was destroyed by a terrible fire. Nearing the end of my life, this was a difficult blow for me to overcome. I passed away in Ferrara on July 6, 1533 and now rest in the rooms of Palazzo Paradiso, home to Biblioteca Ariostea, the library named in my honour, in a beautiful funeral monument designed in 1612 by the architect Giovan Battista Aleotti.
]]>We discover Ferrara walking in the footsteps of Ludovico Ariosto, thanks to an itinerary that narrates the city’s most hidden treasures.
It touches on those sites so rich in history, but less well known than others, frequented by the poet during his long stay in the city. The palaces where he studied, surrounded by academics and humanists; the intimate and familiar places and the official ones where Ariosto worked when he was at the service of the Estense family in 16th-century Ferrara and, in later years, the places he frequented when he became a court playwright fulfilling his dream, right through to those where he chose to spend the last years of his life, busy writing Orlando Furioso, the epic poem that made him famous.
We begin at Palazzo Schifanoia with the seasons and signs of the zodiac of Salone dei Mesi that so enchanted the poet, and then continue the Monastero del Corpus Domini, the monastery that houses the tomb of Lucrezia Borgia. We continue along the streets where Ariosto lived – 29 Via Giuoco del Pallone and 15 Via del Carbone – visiting Palazzo Paradiso along the way. Now home to the Biblioteca Ariostea, it houses the funeral monument to Ariosto. We reach the imposing Cathedral of Ferrara to see characteristic Via Adelardi that runs alongside it. Here, to this day, stands “Al Brindisi” inn – known at the time as “Hostaria del Chiuchiolino” – frequented since 1435 by historical figures, including Ariosto himself. The imposing Volto del Cavallo portal leads to Piazza Municipale from where we continue as far as Este Castle. From here, we take Corso Ercole I d’Este where we can see the ashlars of beautiful Palazzo dei Diamanti. The itinerary ends with two sites that recall Ariosto, elliptical-shaped Piazza Ariostea, that has a statue dedicated to the poet at its centre, and Casa Ariosto, the house he owned and where he wrote the last version of Orlando Furioso.
You can learn more about Ariosto’s story by downloading the 10-episode podcast, on loquis or using the QR code on the map.
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