The red brick of the castle can be found all over Ferrara. These bricks, developed by the Romans, were used extensively during the Middle Ages and spread throughout many parts of Europe. The walls of Ferrara city are also built from the same red bricks. The best way to see Ferra is by walking. The main square in Ferrara, Piazza Trento, is not far from the castle and is the liveliest part of town.
Like any major town square in Europe, prices are always going to be higher, and sometimes quality suffers, but it is a fantastic spot to stop and watch the world go by. The city hall features the Este family, through statues of Niccolo III, the most notorious member of the family and his son. The cathedral is known to be impressive from an architectural perspective, specifically due to its blend of Romanesque and Gothic styles.
Whilst the front of the church was finished in marble, the sides were left unfinished. The lower part of the church was completed in the 12th century, and the upper part in later times, hence the different styles. Today they are filled with modern stores but are a clear path back to the history of commercial trade in the Middle Ages. A market also operates in this area although most of the wares are cheap looking and hardly at the standard of the wonderful markets in Florence for example.
I think Carcassonne in France and Tallinn in Estonia are hands-down my favourites. The city walls of Ferrara are intact which is also quite unusual, given both the age and the constant procession of wars and disturbances in and around this city since its inception. Thankfully, the city of Ferrara is now UNESCO protected, meaning these walls and everything else inside will continue to be around for generations to come. Unlike some of the smaller walled cities, however, these walls are a little further out.
The Old Town of Ferrara is also a pedestrianised zone. For a full list of museums in Ferrara, opening times and ticket prices click here. With a strong history of the Este family as rulers along with the religious connections of the Papal state, there is so much to learn about this city. Walking the streets provides wonderful insight into how they lived all those years ago, showcasing the different architecture.
Cobbled stones and laneways that lead you around like in a maze. Cloistered areas and squares, parks and palaces. The more you can get out of the central city area, the more local delights you will find. Ferrara was a place of respite to many of the Jews who were forced from their homes, not just during the world wars but during much earlier times as well.
Via Vittoria and Via Vignatagliata are also important streets in this area. There was never any doubt we were going to strike it rich in the food department in Ferrara. Like most Italian towns and regions, they have their own specialties. Take the cappellacci for example. To the uninitiated, it will look like ravioli. The thing about non-Italians is that we tend to group pasta into several main categories, never really looking for or caring about slight differences.
Not so in Italy. It can actually be quite offensive to someone who has cooked the pasta to have it mistaken for something more mainstream.
Ferrara is also known for Pasticcio Ferrarese , which is a macaroni pie and Salama da Sugo, a local pork sausage. Wanting to find somewhere as authentic as possible, we walked down Via Giuseppe Mazzini, the main street that leads away from the Piazza Trento and the cathedral.
The restaurants here are definitely amped up to secure the tourist trade with touts at work out the front of most of them, encouraging you to come in. We got off the main strip and found ourselves in the Jewish quarter. The existence of Jews here goes back to around the 13th century, where they were encouraged by the Este family. We struggled for a while to understand whether they were in fact open. Now it feels as though we are in the correct place. Owned by a former teacher, she runs this place with a firm hand.
Young staff members are permitted to take our order but it is she who must deliver the meal to the table. We order the cappellacci, both traditional, with the ragu sauce and one with a butter and sage sauce which were both equally delicious. We wash it down with Lambrusco. For our recommended place to buy gelato, you need to walk out of the city centre a little and onto the opposite side of the castle. Here you will find La Romana Ferrara, home to some of the best gelato in Ferrara.
I got to try my first ruby chocolate concoction here. All gelato is made on-site and if you are lucky you can see them hard at their craft through the windows in the front of the store.
Check availability and book online. With lots of documents, posters, and clippings, the exhibits here take you through the history of the reunification of Italy in the s.
Much of the material is in Italian, but you can still enjoy the display of uniforms and mementos. The Jewish community was an integral part of the fabric of Ferrara during the rule of the Este family, and many prominent Jewish people lived on the Corso della Giudecca, a large street connecting medieval and Renaissance Ferrara. The city was a prominent center for Jewish printing. The synagogue on Via Mazzini houses the Jewish Museum, and you can wander the medieval streets of the ghetto, which have been preserved as they were, except for the renovation of individual buildings.
If you enjoy learning as you walk, join a guided 2-hour walking tour of the city that takes you past most of the major sights in Ferrara. Other than the Duomo, Ferrara boasts a number of beautiful churches.
On a one day visit, you will likely just have the time to step into one or two of them as you walk around the historic center. Redesigned in a Renaissance style by Rossetti at the time of the Erculean addition, the church was damaged in the Ferrara earthquake of and is being restored at the time of writing. But you can still go in and view the art work. Also redesigned by Rossetti towards the end of the 15th century, the church is famous because blood is supposed to have appeared from the host during consecration on Easter in the year We stumbled upon La Rotonda Foschini by accident towards the end of our day in Ferrara, and I was so glad we did!
The beautiful courtyard is a part of the Teatro Communale of Ferrara. The elliptical shaped rotonda is beloved by photographers, and no wonder.
Point your camera up and take a shot of the top opening of the courtyard with the sky above, for a great photo. The theater was completed towards the end of the 18th century, after construction was stalled for many years due to disagreements between Antonio Foschini and Cosimo Morelli, the two architects hired for the project.
Stretching for about 5. Walk or bike the walls, following the route along the embankment or along the moat just inside. With lots of green spaces and trees, the walkways are mostly paved, and you can spend whatever amount of time your itinerary allows. Having done our gelato homework ahead of our visit, we made our way to Gelateria La Romana for our sweet treat. Aside from lots of flavors of gelato artigianale, the shop also sells pastries and cakes. It was difficult to choose just one treat each!
We sampled four flavors of gelato between the two of us, and every single one was delicious. Creamy texture, not cloyingly sweet, and bursting with flavor. Well worth the walk from the historic center! When in Ferrara, make sure you try the signature pasta dish of the city; capellacci di zucca. Made fresh by hand, the hat-shaped pasta are stuffed with cooked butternut squash or pumpkin, grated parmesan, and nutmeg.
Generally served in a sauce made with melted butter and fresh sage, capellacci di zucca can also be enjoyed with a tomato-based sauce or a meat sauce. We also shared a plate of gnocchi.
The pasta was filling enough that we complemented it only with some grilled vegetables for a satisfying lunch. If you are a vegetarian, be warned: the traditional recipe includes lard. Ferrara is located in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and you can drive or take the train to arrive in the city.
Ferrara makes for an easy and wonderful day trip from Bologna or Venice , or even Verona , so plan to add it to your itinerary for northern Italy! Here are the driving distances and drive times, in normal traffic from major nearby cities to Ferrara: Bologna to Ferrara: About 30 miles, 50 minutes Verona to Ferrara: About 58 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes Venice to Ferrara: About 70 miles, 1 hour 30 minutes.
Looking to rent a car for your Europe trip? Discover Cars offers you the ability to compare availability and prices across many major car-hire companies. Pick the car that best meets your needs! To travel from Bologna to Ferrara by train, it takes about 55 minutes some trains are faster. We visited Ferrara as a day trip from Bologna and I thought it was one of the best day trips from Bologna you can do. Leave early to maximize your time in Ferrara. You can travel from Verona to Ferrara by train in about 1 hour and 40 minutes, with a change in Padova, and from Venezia Mestre to Ferrara in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
You can walk from the train station in Ferrara to the Este Castle in about 20 minutes, or you can take a taxi or the local bus. Or rent a bike at the station! To book bus and train tickets for Europe, consider Omio. I found the booking experience easy and hassle-free. They do charge a nominal service fee but I thought it was well worth the convenience! If you prefer the structure of a guided tour, consider this half-day private guided tour from Bologna.
Book this tour now! Not all of the city within the walls is of similar antiquity; if you enter along the wide Viale Cavour you will wonder where the historic buildings are, until you take a side-turning and find yourself in the city's network of medieval and Renaissance streets.
It's a good idea to explore with a map available from the tourist information office in the courtyard of the Castello Estense as these picturesque streets stretch for some way. Unfortunately, only a few lanes are pedestrianised; many of the inhabitants of Ferrara, however, get around on old bicycles, bumping over the cobbles. The area enclosed by Ferrara's walls is large but the most of the sights in the historic centre are reasonably close together.
There are local buses, although they don't traverse all the historic lanes. The Castello Estense was the stronghold of the Este family and sits red-brick, solid and moated in the heart of Ferrara.
Although built as a tough fortress in , the Este family also used it as a residence and for entertaining so it contains state apartments as well as dungeons. The castle is open to the public, with its entrance through a ticket office in the courtyard. It's worth paying an extra euro to climb the Torre dei Leoni, a tower with views over the town centre.
Many of the castle rooms are bare, hosting information boards about Ferrara and the Este dynasty. All the signs are in English as well as Italian. Descending to the prison cells is the most atmospheric part of the tour. Low and gloomy, they are accessed through tiny doorways with thick doors attached; if you are alone it's quite nervy entering. Around the walls are daubs and scratchings said to be by the unlucky people incarcerated here. Prisoners in this castle have inspired poetry and opera: the doomed Parisina and Ugo d'Este, a young wife and her stepson who fell fatally in love; and the two rebel brothers of an Este Duke, who were kept here for decades, one surving to be released after 53 years.
Upstairs the highlights include some lovely frescoed ceilings with classical scenes and influences, and the little marble ducal chapel. There is a cafeteria and also rather feeble provision of toilets halfway around the visiting route. Ferrara's Cattedrale is close to the Castello Estense, with busy shops, cafes and stalls nearby making it a lively centre for the modern town.
The church was consecrated in the twelfth century, although the interior is more recent. The facade is a grand and rather overpowering combination of Romanesque features in its lower half and Gothic in the upper part. The interior is imposing and shadowy; its artistic highlight a depiction of the Last Judgement by Bastianino above the apse, which can be hard to make out in the gloom.
The building can be visited free, but is closed for several hours at lunchtime. Close by is the Museo della Cattedrale admission charge which contains art and exhibits related to or from the cathedral, including a sculpture by Jacopo della Quercia of the Madonna.
As well as their central residences, the Este family built a network of villas, palaces and retreats in and around Ferrara, known fetchingly as the 'delights of the Estes'. One of these was the Palazzo Schifanoia , a fifteen-minute walk from the Castle.
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