Ferrara is a city in
Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the
Province of Ferrara.
It is situated 50 km north-northeast of
Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the
Po River, located 5 km north. The town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the 14th century and 15th century, when it hosted the court of the
House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance it has been qualified by
UNESCO as
World Heritage Site.
Modern times have brought a renewal of industrial activity. Ferrara is on the main rail line from
Bologna to
Padua and
Venice, and has branches to
Ravenna,
Poggio Rusco (for
Suzzara) and
Codigoro.
In 2006, due to its important historical significance, Ferrara became the headquarters of the Italian
Hermitage Museum, as the result be the fifth city in the world to have linked his name with the Russian museum. From this union was born the
Hermitage-Italy Foundation.
History
Middle Ages
thumb|left|150px|Ancient map of Ferrara.thumb|150px|left|The [[Castello Estense|Castle Estense (14th century).]]
The origin of Ferrara is uncertain, it was probably settled by the inhabitants of the
lagoons at the mouth of
Po river; there are two early centers of settlement, one round the cathedral, the other, the
castrum bizantino, being the San Pietro district, on the opposite shore, where the Primaro empties into the Volano channel. Ferrara appears first in a document of the
Lombard king
Desiderius of 753 AD, as a city forming part of the
Exarchate of
Ravenna. Desiderius pledged a Lombard
ducatus ferrariae ("Duchy of Ferrara") in 757 to Pope Stephen II. After 984 it was a
fief of
Tedaldo,
count of
Modena and
Canossa, nephew of the emperor
Otto I. It afterwards made itself independent, and in 1101 was taken by siege by the
countess Matilda. At this time it was mainly dominated by several great families, among them the prominent Adelardi (or Aleardi) family.
In 1146, Guglielmo II of Adelardi, the last of the House of Adelardi, died, and his property passed, as the
dowry of his niece
the Marchesella, to Obizzo I of Este. There was considerable hostility between the newly entered family and the prominent Salinguerra family, but after considerable struggles Azzo VII of Este was nominated perpetual
podestà in 1242; in 1259 he took
Ezzelino of Verona prisoner in battle. His grandson,
Obizzo II (1264–1293), succeeded him, and he was made perpetual lord of the city by the population. The
House of Este was from henceforth settled in Ferrara. In 1289 he was also chosen as lord of
Modena, one year later he was made lord of
Reggio.
Niccolò III (1393–1441) received several
popes with great magnificence, especially
Eugene IV, who held a council here in 1438. His son
Borso received the title of
duke for the imperial fiefs of Modena and Reggio from Emperor
Frederick III in 1452 (in which year
Girolamo Savonarola was born here), and in 1471 was made
duke of Ferrara by
Pope Paul II.
Ercole I (1471–1505) carried on a war with
Venice and increased the magnificence of the city.
Renaissance
thumb|left|150px|Portrait of a Woman by [[Bartolomeo Veneto, traditionally assumed to be
Lucrezia Borgia.]]
During the reign of
Ercole d'Este I, one of the most significant patrons of the arts in late 15th and early 16th century Italy after the
Medici, Ferrara grew into a cultural center, renowned for music as well as for visual arts. The painters established links with flemish artists and their techniques, exchanging influences in the colors and composition choices. Composers came to Ferrara from many parts of Europe, especially France and
Flanders;
Josquin Des Prez worked for Duke Ercole for a time (producing the
Missa Hercules dux Ferrariæ, which he wrote for him);
Jacob Obrecht came to Ferrara twice (and died during an outbreak of
plague there in 1505); and
Antoine Brumel served as principal musician from 1505.
Alfonso I, son of Ercole, was also an important patron; his preference for instrumental music resulted in Ferrara becoming an important center of composition for the
lute. The architecture of Ferrara benefitted from the genius of
Biagio Rossetti, who was asked in 1484 by Ercole I to redesign the plan of the city. The resulting "Addizione Erculea" is one of the most important and beautiful examples of renaissance city planning and contributed to the selection of Ferrara as
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Alfonso married the notorious
Lucrezia Borgia, and continued the war with Venice with success. In 1509 he was
excommunicated by
Pope Julius II, and he overcame the pontifical army in 1512 defending
Ravenna.
Gaston de Foix fell in the battle, in which he was supporting Alfonso. With the succeeding popes he was able to make peace. He was the patron of
Ariosto from 1518 onwards. His son
Ercole II married
Renée of France, daughter of
Louis XII of France; he too embellished Ferrara during his reign (1534–1559).
thumb|right|150px|[[Torquato Tasso in the St. Ann's hospital of Ferrara, by
Eugène Delacroix.]]
His son
Alfonso II married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-duke
Cosimo I of Tuscany, then Barbara, sister of the emperor
Maximilian II and finally
Margherita Gonzaga, daughter of the
duke of Mantua. He raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, and was the patron of
Tasso,
Guarini, and
Cremonini – favouring, as the princes of his house had always done, the arts and sciences. During the reign of Alfonso II, Ferrara once again developed an opulent court with an impressive musical establishment, rivaled in Italy only by the adjacent city of Venice, and the traditional musical centers such as Rome,
Florence and
Milan. Composers such as
Luzzasco Luzzaschi,
Lodovico Agostini, and later
Carlo Gesualdo, represented the
avant-garde tendency of the composers there, writing for gifted virtuoso performers, including the famous
concerto di donne — the three virtuoso female singers
Laura Peverara,
Anna Guarini, and
Livia d'Arco.
Vincenzo Galilei praised the work of Luzzaschi, and
Girolamo Frescobaldi studied with him. He had no legitimate male heir, and in 1597 Ferrara was claimed as a vacant fief by
Pope Clement VIII, as was also
Comacchio.
Modern history
Ferrara remained a part of the
Papal States from 1598 to 1859, when it became part of the
Kingdom of Italy. A fortress was constructed by
Pope Paul V on the site of the castle called "Castel Tedaldo", at the south-west angle of the town, that was occupied by an
Austrian garrison from 1832 until 1859. All of the fortress was dismantled following the birth of the
Kingdom of Italy and the bricks used for new constructions all over the town.
On August 23, 1944, the
Ferrara synthetic rubber plant was a target of
Strategic bombing during World War II.
Main sights
thumb|right|The medieval walls.right|thumb|The [[Castello Estense|Castle Estense.]]
right|thumb|The [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque cathedral.]]
thumb|right|Palazzo dei Diamanti, seat of the National Gallery.
thumb|right|The Certosa of Ferrara.thumb|right|Casa Romei.The town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometres of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries Together with those of
Lucca, they are the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy.
The most iconic building of the town is the imponent
Castello Estense: sited in the very centre of the town, it's a brick building surrounded by a
moat, with four massive bastions. It was built starting in 1385 and partly restored in 1554; the pavilions on the top of the towers date from the latter year.
The ancient City Hall, renovated in the 18th century, was the earlier residence of the
Este family. Close by it is the former Cathedral of Saint George, begun in 1135, when the
Romanesque lower part of the main
façade and the side façades were completed. According to a now lost inscription the church was built in 1135 by Guglielmo I of Adelardi (d. 1146), who is buried in it. The sculpture of the main portal is the signed work of the "artifex" Nicholaus, mentioned in the lost inscription as the "architect" for the church. The upper part of the main façade, with arcades of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century, while the lower part of the protiro or projecting porch and the main portal are by Nicholaus. The recumbent lions guarding the entrance are replacements of the originals, now in the narthex of the church. The elaborate reflief sculptures depicting
Last Judgement gracing the second story of the porch above date from the thirteenth century. The interior was restored in the
baroque style in 1712. The
campanile, in the
Renaissance style, dates from 1451–1493, but the last storey was added at the end of the 16th century.
A little way off is the
university, which has faculties of
law,
architecture,
pharmacy,
medicine and
natural science; the
library has valuable
manuscripts, including part of that of the
Orlando furioso and letters by
Tasso. Its famous graduates include
Nicolaus Copernicus (1503) and
Paracelsus. Near the main university facilities it raises the
University of Ferrara Botanic Garden.
Ferrara has many early
Renaissance palaces, often retaining
terracotta decorations; few towns of Italy as small have so many, though most are comparatively small in size. Among them may be noted those in the north quarter (especially the four at the intersection of its two main streets), which was added by Ercole I in 1492–1505, from the plans of
Biagio Rossetti, and hence called the
Addizione Erculea.
Among the finest palaces is
Palazzo dei Diamanti (
Diamond Palace), named after the
diamond points into which the facade's stone blocks are cut. The
palazzo houses the National Picture Gallery, with a large collection of the school of Ferrara, which first rose to prominence in the latter half of the 15th century, with
Cosimo Tura,
Francesco Cossa and
Ercole dei Roberti. Noted masters of the 16th century
School of Ferrara (Painting) include
Lorenzo Costa and
Dosso Dossi, the most eminent of all,
Girolamo da Carpi and
Benvenuto Tisi (il Garofalo).
The Casa Romei is the best preserved Reinassance building in Ferrara. It was the residence of Giovanni Romei, related to Este family by marriage to Polissena d'Este and likely the work of the court architect Pietro Bono Brasavola. It did not fall into decay because it was inherited by the nuns of the Corpus Domini order who lived there without making any changes to its structure. Much of the decoration in the inner rooms has been saved. There are fresco cycles in the Sala delle Sibille (Room of Sibyls), with its original
terracotta fireplace bearing the coat of arms of Giovanni Romei, in the adjoining Saletta dei Profeti (Room of the Prophets), depicting allegories from the Bible and in other rooms, some of which were commissioned by cardinal
Ippolito d'Este and painted by the school of Camillo and Cesare Filippi (16th century).
The
Palazzo Schifanoia (
sans souci) was built in 1385 for
Alberto V d'Este. The
palazzo includes frescoes depicting the life of
Borso d'Este, the signs of the
zodiac and
allegorical representations of the months. The
vestibule was decorated with
stucco mouldings by Domenico di Paris. The building also contains fine choir-books with miniatures and a collection of coins and Renaissance medals.
The City Historical Archives contain a relevant amount of historical documents, starting from 15th century. The
Diocesan Historical Archive is more ancient, mentioned in documents in A.D. 955, and contains precious documents collected across the centuries by the clergy.
The Corpus Domini Monastery contains tombs of the House of Este, including
Alfonso I,
Alfonso II,
Ercole I,
Ercole II, as well as
Lucrezia Borgia,
Eleanor of Aragon, and many more.
The
Ferrara Synagogue and Jewish Museum are located in the heart of the mediæval centre, close to the cathedral and the Castello Estense. This street was part of the
Jewish Quarter in which the Jews were separated from the rest of the population of Ferrara from 1627 to 1859.
Other sites include:
- The church of Santa Maria in Vado
- The church of St. Benedict
- The church of St. Charles
- The church of St. Cristopher
- The church of St. Dominic
- The church of St. Francis
- The house of the poet Ludovico Ariosto, erected by him after 1526 and in which he died in 1532.
- The monastery of Sant'Antionio in Polesine
- The Palazzina di Marfisa d'Este
Demographics
In 2007, there were 133,591 people residing in Ferrara, of whom 46.8% were male and 53.2% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 12.28 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 26.41 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Ferrara residents is 49 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Ferrara grew by 2.28 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent. The current birth rate of Ferrara is 7.02 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. Ferrara is known as being the oldest city with a population over 100,000, as well the city with lowest birth rate.
As of 2006, 95.59% of the population was
Italian. The largest immigrant group was other European nations (mostly from the
Ukraine, and
Albania: 2.59%) North Africa: 0.51%, and
East Asia: 0.39%. Currently, one-tenth of all births has at least one foreign parent. The city is predominantly
Roman Catholic, with small
Orthodox Christian adherents. The historical
Jewish community is still surviving.
Culture
Literature
The Renaissance literary men and poets
Torquato Tasso (authot of
Jerusalem Delivered),
Ludovico Ariosto (author of the romantic epic poem
Orlando Furioso) and
Matteo Maria Boiardo (author of the grandiose poem of chivalry and romance
Orlando Innamorato), lived and worked at the court of Ferrara during the 14th and 15th century.
The
Ferrara Bible was a 1553 publication of the
Ladino version of the
Tanach used by
Sephardi Jews. It was paid for and made by Yom-Tob ben Levi Athias (the
Spanish Marrano Jerónimo de Vargas, as typographer) and
Abraham ben Salomon Usque (the
Portuguese Jew Duarte Pinhel, as translator), and was dedicated to
Ercole II d'Este. In the 20th century Ferrara was the home and workplace of writer
Giorgio Bassani, well-known for his novels that were often adapted for cinema (
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis,
Long Night in 1943). In historical fiction, British author Sarah Dunant set her 2009 novel
Sacred Hearts in a convent in Ferrara.
Painting
During the Reinassance, the Este House, well known for its partonage of the arts, wellcame a great number of artists, especially painters, that formed the so-called
School of Ferrara. The astounding list of painters and artists includes the names of
Andrea Mantegna,
Vicino da Ferrara,
Giovanni Bellini,
Leon Battista Alberti,
Pisanello,
Piero della Francesca,
Rogier van der Weyden, Battista Dossi,
Dosso Dossi,
Cosmé Tura,
Francesco del Cossa and
Titian. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Ferrara hosted and inspired a number of important painters who grew fond of its eerie atmosphere: among them
Giovanni Boldini,
Filippo de Pisis and
Giorgio de Chirico.
Religion
Ferrara gave birth to
Girolamo Savonarola, the famous medieval
Dominican priest and leader of
Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his
book burning, destruction of what he considered immoral art, and hostility to the
Renaissance. He vehemently preached against the moral corruption of much of the clergy at the time, and his main opponent was
Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia).
Music
The Ferrarese musician
Girolamo Frescobaldi was one of the most important
composers of
keyboard music in the late
Renaissance and early
Baroque periods. His masterpiece
Fiori musicali (
Musical Flowers) is a collection of
liturgical organ music first published in 1635. It became the most famous of Frescobaldi's works and was studied centuries after his death by numerous composers, including
Johann Sebastian BachCinema
Ferrara is the birthplace and childhood home of the well-known Italian
film director,
Michelangelo Antonioni. The town of Ferrara was also the setting of the famous film
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by
Vittorio De Sica in (1970), that tells the vicissitudes of a rich Jewish family during the dictatorship of
Benito Mussolini and
World War II. Furthermore,
Wim Wenders and
Michelangelo Antonioni's
Beyond the Clouds in (1995) and
Ermanno Olmi's
The Profession of Arms in (2001), a film about the last days of
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, were also shot in Ferrara.
Festivals
The
Palio of St. George is a typical medieval festival held every last Sunday of May. The
Buskers Festival is a non-competitive parade of the best street musicians in the world. In terms of tradition and dimension it is the most important festival in the world of this kind. Additionally, Ferrara is becoming the Italian capital of
hot air balloons, thanks to the ten-day-long
Ferrara Balloons Festival, the biggest celebration of balloons in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.
Sport
Ferrara's local football team,
Società Polisportiva Ars Et Labor 1907 is going to play in
Lega Pro Prima Divisione (former
Serie C1), which is the third highest football league in Italy. The local basketball team,
Carife Ferrara, have been doing considerably better; they won the 2007-08 title in the second-level
LegADue, thereby earning promotion to
Serie A.
Twin towns
Ferrara is
twinned with:
- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 1964
Politics
The last municipal elections was held on June 21 and 22, 2009, resulting in the election of Tiziano Tagliani (
Democratic Party) as Mayor of the city of Ferrara.
The division of the 40 seats in the city council is as followed:
- Sinistra Aperta per Ferrara - 1
