Ferrara

Ferrara is not such a big city located in Emilia Romagna region, but it has a very interesting history. So it is worth a visit. First evidences of Ferrara date back between VII and VIII century. It then passed under the Byzantine domain and between IX and XII century it saw its Romanesque period.

The best period of Ferrara was under the rule of Estensi family. During the Renaissance the city grew dramatically, and its urbanistic project was one of the most advanced in Europe for that era.

In some fashion the life of Ferrara has always been conditioned by the presence of Po river which changed its flow several times over centuries. The work of inhabitants of that area to control the biggest Italian river has been huge, and also for this reason, Ferrara has always been a “sparkling” city, rich in architecture, art, monuments, and with a fantastic gastronomy that in some way also tells the history of this Italian territory.

Ferrara has plenty of fantastic corners, but we at BBofItaly suggest to visit these main buildings: museum of Cattedrale di San Giorgio, Monastero di Sant’Antonio in Polesine, Chiesa di San Cristoforo alla Certosa. Here below a brief description of these three. Castello Estense will be the target of another future BBofItaly trip and article in Ferrara.

Museum of Cattedrale di San Giorgio hosted in the former church of San Romano, collects some masterpieces from Cathedral of Ferrara. You can observe  fantastic illuminated manuscripts (about 1400 year), the famous Madonna della Melagrana (about 1400 year) of Jacopo della Quercia, some tapestries (about 1500 year), and several sculptures.

Monastero di Sant’Antonio in Polesine, still inhabited by a group of nuns of San Benedetto, dates back to year 1297. The part of the monastery church reserved for nuns, has three chapels. The two lateral are characterized by fantastic frescoes from Giotto’s school. The central one has frescoes from different periods and painters. The atmosphere of this Monastero is unique and it is worth a visit.

Chiesa di San Cristoforo alla Certosa, is located close to Corso Ercole I d’Este a fantastic road that runs along Ferrara with wonderful palaces on either side. It is embedded in the fantastic and very quiet area of Monumental Cemetery of the city. The church dates back to year 1452, and its interior is magnificent with paintings by several painters (about year 1500). The main altar is encompassed by an awesome wooden choir.

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