Ferrara

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Overview

A heavyweight Renaissance art city peppered with colossal palaces and still ringed by its intact medieval walls, Ferrara jumps out at you like an absconded Casanova (he once stayed here) on the route between Bologna and Venice. But, like any city situated in close proximity to La Serenissima ('The Most Serene' Venetian Republic), it is serially overlooked, despite its Unesco World Heritage status. As a result, Venice avoiders will find Ferrara's bike-friendly streets and frozen-in-time palazzi relatively unexplored and deliciously tranquil.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Castello Estense

Ferrara

Complete with moat and drawbridge, Ferrara's towering castle was commissioned by Nicolò II d'Este in 1385. Initially it was intended to protect him and…

Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah

Ferrara

Born by an Italian Parliamentary decree to create a National Holocaust Museum, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah partially opened in…

Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Ferrara

Housed within what is arguably Ferrara's most beautifully preserved palace – the 1505 Palazzo Costabili – the city's national archaeological museum is…

Palazzo Schifanoia

Ferrara

Dating to 1385, the Este's 14th-century pleasure palace suffered significant earthquake damage in May 2012 and the museum will be shuttered until 2020 for…

Palazzo dei Diamanti

Ferrara

Named after the spiky diamond-shaped ashlar stones on its facade, the late-15th-century 'diamond palace' was built for Sigismondo d'Este. It houses…

Palazzo Massari

Ferrara

This early Renaissance palace houses three museums: the Museo Giovanni Boldini, dedicated solely to Ferrara-born Giovanni Boldini; the Museo dell…

Duomo

Ferrara

The outstanding feature of the pink-and-white 12th-century cathedral is its three-tiered marble facade combining Romanesque and Gothic styles on the lower…

Palazzo Municipale

Ferrara

Linked to the castle by an elevated passageway, the 13th-century crenellated Palazzo Municipale was the Este family home until they moved next door to the…

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