Local Treasures
Plan your visit to Italy
Are you planning to visit Italy and you want to go somewhere else than Rome, Florence or Venice? Then Ferrara is the place you want to be! Ferrara, since 1995 on the UNESCO World Heritage List, city of the renaissance in the Emilia Romagna is best known for its impressive Este Castle and its beautiful Duomo. Come and be impressed by the magic atmosphere when walking through the small streets in the medieval part of the town or the spacious buildings dating from the renaissance like Palazzo dei Diamanti or Palazzo Schifanoia.
Ferrara offers art, culture, a dense calendar of activities all year round and of course its gastronomic excellences like Cappellacci di Zucca, Salame di Sugo and the famous shaped bread of Ferrara, la Coppia.
Castello Estense
Ferrara’s most striking building is the square castle of the house of Este (Castello Estense), in the centre of the city. This stone building is surrounded by a moat and has four towers. It was built after 1385 by architect Bartolino da Novara to protect the town from external threats and to serve as a fortified residence for the Este family. It was extensively renovated in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Nowadays the castle is open for viewing and hosts several exhibitions per year.
The Cathedral
The outstanding façade, divided into three sections, was begun in Romanesque style, still visible in the lower part.
Note the St. George and the scenes from the New Testament above the central door, the work of the sculptor Nicholaus (1135). The upper part was built some decades later in a Gothic style and besides the numerous small arches and the splayed mullioned windows presents an extraordinary Last Judgment by an unknown sculptor over the central loggia.
Palazzo dei Diamanti
The magnificent Palazzo dei Diamanti, at the centre of the Renaissance addition of the city, is situated on the important crossroads known as the ‘Quadrivio degli Angeli’ (Crossroads of the Angels).
Its name derives from the more than 8000 pink and white marble ashlars in the form of pyramids (or diamonds) that cover the two façades. Its architect is the famous Biagio Rossetti.
Palazzo Diamanti is used for important exhibitions during the year.