Ferrara between Renaissance, cycle paths and the Po Delta

Ferrara: Renaissance between the city and the Po Delta

Since 1995, Ferrara has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an outstanding example of a Renaissance city. The UNESCO World Heritage site “Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta” connects Ferrara’s city centre with adjacent agricultural areas in the extensive former Po Delta. In Ferrara, a historically shaped city and an extensive cultural landscape thus meet.

From 1492 onwards, Ferrara developed the Addizione Erculea, an urban plan intended to double the medieval city and create broad, straight streets, churches, monasteries, palaces and fortifications. The historic city centre is almost completely surrounded by more than nine kilometres of walls and green areas; cycle paths follow attractive routes there. On a walk, therefore, you experience not only individual buildings but also the expansive structure of the Renaissance city.

Palaces, museums and stages

The Este court contributed to the emergence of a Ferrarese Renaissance culture by promoting the exchange of artists, writers and technicians; evidence of their work has been preserved in the World Heritage area. Following the Addizione Erculea, Castello Estense became the Este residence and the ducal residence. The Salone dei Mesi is considered one of the great masterpieces of the European Renaissance.

The Palazzo dei Diamanti was built from 1493 onwards to a design by Biagio Rossetti and houses the Pinacoteca Civica as well as exhibitions by Ferrara Arte. The Museo Schifanoia presents around 250 works in 21 rooms. The Museo di Casa Romei contains frescoes from various churches in the city, as well as tomb slabs, statues and architectural decorations from historic buildings in Ferrara.

The MEIS presents the two-thousand-year history of Jewish life in Italy and pays particular attention to persecution and the Shoah. The exhibition “Ebrei, una storia italiana” traces the development of Italian Judaism from Roman times through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Jewish history is therefore also one of the cultural perspectives that you can explore in greater depth in Ferrara.

The Teatro Comunale was built between 1773 and 1797 according to plans by Antonio Foschini and Cosimo Morelli and inaugurated in 1798 as an Italian theatre with Marco Portugallo’s opera “Gli Orazi e i Curiazi”. Every year, it hosts more than 160 performances in the fields of drama, dance, opera, concerts, experimental theatre and children’s theatre.

Green spaces and cycle connections

The green spaces also give the city its own rhythm. The Botanical Garden of the University of Ferrara covers around 4,500 m² and has irregular paths between trees, flowerbeds and greenhouses. North of Ferrara, the Bassani-dedicated Parco Urbano-agricolo extends over around 1,200 hectares; it is used for jogging, walking and cycling.

Ferrara’s “Bicipolitana” uses colour coding to mark the main axes of the urban cycle network and supports safe, continuous cycle connections for tourism and leisure. It comprises eight designated routes: R1 Ciclovia Bologna, R2 Ciclovia Comacchio, R3 Ciclovia Pontegradella, R4 Ciclovia Copparo, R5 Ciclovia Francolino, R6 Ciclovia Pontelagoscuro, R7 Ciclovia Modena and R8 Ciclovia Bondeno. The “In bici tra Valli e Delizie” route follows the Canale Circondariale on its final section to Ostellato, the gateway to the Parco del Delta del Po.

Festivals, squares and regional specialities

The historic Carnevale degli Este in Ferrara is a four-day festival from Shrove Thursday to Sunday that attracts tourists and curious visitors every year. The festivities include costume parades, dances, celebrations in the palaces and public banquets. The historic, oval Piazza Ariostea hosts the Palio di Ferrara every year, adding another highlight to the city’s events calendar.

Typical specialities of the Ferrara region that can be sampled include Cappellacci di zucca and Salamina da sugo. If you would like to combine culture, architecture, green spaces, cycle connections and regional cuisine, you can explore Ferrara according to these themes and set the pace of your trip accordingly.

More places to discover

Lagosanto, Ferrara, Dogato, Cento, Vigarano Mainarda, Ostellato, Migliarino, Gambulaga, Copparo, Sant'agostino, Quartesana, Porporana, Codigoro, Runco, Renazzo, Portomaggiore, San Nicolò, Goro, Comacchio, Stellata, Lido Degli Scacchi, Lido Delle Nazioni, Lido Di Spina, Porto Garibaldi, Lido Di Pomposa, Settepolesini, Malborghetto di Boara, San Martino, Mesola, Poggio Renatico, Francolino, Fortezza, Dosso, Mirabello, Argenta, Voghenza, Formignana, Bondeno, San Bartolomeo In Bosco, Ravalle, Ambrogio, Chiesa Nuova, Jolanda di Savoia, San Giuseppe, Tamara, Berra, Serravalle, Massa Fiscaglia, Lido Di Volano, Macchiavella, Cona, Volania, Monestirolo, Lido Degli Estensi, Ca' Matte

For the higher-level travel overview: Emilia-Romagna.