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Ferrara, Province of Ferrara, Italy. Photo by trolvag on

10 Best Facts about Ferrara

Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. The town has numerous palaces that date from the Renaissance. Its streets are broad.

The city is rich in agriculture and industrial activities. Manufacturers include chemicals, machinery, food products, metals, and refined petroleum.

However, Ferrari is well established for the buildings constructed by its Renaissance rulers, the Este family. It was also the European Capitals of culture, arts, politics, and gastronomy, in addition to being a reference point for artists, poets and minstrels.

1. Castle Estense is a wondrous building

This is a moated medieval castle in the centre of Ferrara. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. On the outside, the castle essentially presents the appearance given to it by Girolamo da Carpi in the second half of the 16th century.

It is Surrounded by a moat. The castle has three entrances with drawbridges fronted by brickwork ravelins. However, the fourth which was situated to the east was removed to make room for the kitchens.

Visitors are allowed to enter the castle. It has a series of richly decorated rooms such as the Chamber of Dawn, the Ducal and the Dungeons.

2. Explore the Ferrara cathedral which is the largest religious building in the city

Ferrara, Italy. Cathedral. Photo by Palickap on

Ferrara cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in Ferrara. It was dedicated to Saint George. This is the largest religious building in the city.

In the front, the facade has a combination of Romanesque and Renaissance styles. It also features a series of ornate arches and decorations.

The interior decoration is simply magnificent. It rivals some of the establishment buildings in Italy. The ceiling, walls and domes are covered with opulent artwork, religious reliefs, and frescos by various Renaissance artists.

3. Cathedral Museum Provides a Fascinating look at the history of Religious Buildings in Ferrara

The Cathedral Museum is housed in the former church of San Romano. It houses two works by Cosmè Tura. These are Annunciation and St. George and the Dragon.

 It is also home to the Madonna Della melagrana by Jacopo Della Quercia. Eight tapestries with stories of the two patron saints of Ferrara based on cartoons by Garofalo and Camillo Filippi.

The museum also provides the history of the Cathedral and the other religious buildings in Ferrara. Moreover, the history of how this city prospered during the Renaissance.

Additionally, the museum has a range of beautiful religious artwork, artefacts and relics including organ pieces, service books and altar crucifixes.

In the centre of the museum is a gorgeous courtyard. That features a series of ornate arches and an old well.

4. View the charm and beauty of the National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara is House in Costabili palace. It holds various excavated artefacts from the Etruscan city of Spina.

 The exhibition of the museum is divided into two parts. On the ground floor, you will find items related to the city of Spina and the daily activities there.

Moreover, a special section is dedicated to the religious life of the city. The ground floor also holds two monohull boats (commonly referred to as pirogues) recovered in 1948 in the Isola Valley.

 On the upper floor, you will find items from the city necropolis along with chronological criteria. These are Krates and amphorae. In addition, other items found in the museum are jewels in gold, silver, amber and semiprecious stones, made by ancient artisans of the Po and Central Italian Etruria.

5. You will not see an exterior of a building quite like that of the Palace of the Diamonds

Palazzo dei Diamanti. Photo by Lungoleno on

Palazzo dei Diamanti (Palace of the Diamonds)is a Renaissance palace located on Corso Ercole I d’Este 21 in Ferrara. The palace was built between 1493 and 1503.

It was used as a residential home by the Este family and by the Villa Marquis. However, the place was acquired by the municipality of Ferrara in 1832. To house the National Gallery of Art and the Civic University.

The most striking feature of the palace is the bossage exterior walls. It has 8,500 white with pink veins marble blocks. They are carved to represent diamonds.

The positioning of the diamonds varies to maximize the light reflected off the building. This creates quite the visual effect.

Inside the building, there is a wonderful art gallery. That contains works from between the 13th and 17th centuries mainly from notable artists local to the region.

6. Church of San Cristoforo alla Certosa and its grounds are an impressive area to visit

The church of San Cristoforo alla Certosa is located in Ferrara. It is also an integral part of the monumental cemetery of the Certosa di Ferrara.

The façade is unfinished and was intended to house a marble coating. However, the interior of the church is grand. It has a single nave and six side chapels. The marble bas-reliefs placed at the bases of the pillars depict heraldic feats of the Este family.

7. Museum of the Risorgimento and  Resistance

Museum of the Risorgimento and  Resistance. Photo by Lungoleno on

The museum is an exhibition space in Ferrara. It was dedicated to the Italian Risorgimento and Resistance.

The original nucleus in the museum dates back to 1903. This was the year of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the shooting of the Ferrara patriots Domenico Malagutti, Giacomo Succi and Luigi Parmeggiani.

In 1954 the section dedicated to the Italian Resistance was added. Thus the original Museum of the Risorgimento changed its name to Museum of the Risorgimento and the Resistance.

In the museum, you will find historical documents and relics of local and national importance. These are uniforms, weapons, military banners and flags. The preserved artefacts start from the uprising of 1848 and reach the second world war.

8. Ferrara has a Share of a Beautiful Public park and to explore

The Massari park is a beautiful place to relax. It was the garden of the adjacent sixteenth-century Massari palace. It was designed in 1780 by Luigi Bertelli.

The park has two gates, the main one on Corso Porta Mare and a second on Corso Ercole I d’Este. At the main entrance, there are two monumental cedars of Lebanon. There are also other majestic trees, such as several ginkgo Biloba, some badgers, a large English oak, hackberry, a paulownia and numerous plane trees.

The park has marble busts of Cesare Battisti on the path that starts from the left of the main entrance. To the right of the main entrance along the path is the bust of Giuseppe Verdi made by Giacomo Zilocchi.

9. A toast in the oldest wine bar in the world

The oldest tavern in the world is called Al Brindisi. Located at Ferrara city. It dates back to 1435.

Tourists flock to this wine bar because of the Multiplicity of wines on offer. Furthermore, for a chance to taste excellent traditional local dishes.

Important figures attended the wine bar. Such as Tiziano Vecellio, Nicolò Copernico, Torquato Tasso and Ludovico Ariosto.

10. A boat cruise is a great way to see the city from a different angle

River Po. Photo by GJo on

Take a boat trip on the River Po. This is the longest river in Italy. It deposits into the Adriatic sea south of Venice.

Visitors get to enjoy the view through a boat cruise. This is from a man-made canal that joins Ferrara to the River Po. The canal has internal channels.

There is a dock for boats at the southern edge of Ferrara. This is the start of the boat ride that heads up the canal and underneath the railway bridge. The stretch of the water continues for some 5km before opening up into the River Po.