Ferrara's monumental cemetery, designed by Borso d’Este in 1461, is an off-the-beaten path gem in Ferrara. Two snaking, semi-circlular arcades frame the entrance to the open-air museum, which cradles the former Carthusian monastery and San Cristoforo alla Certosa church (1498). Visitors are encouraged to explore the peaceful, visually stunning Renaissance-style grounds via three themed gravesite itineraries (Stories of Ferrara, Seven Arts and Sacred Beauty) accessed via the ARtour app (Android/iOS).
Certosa di Ferrara
Ferrara
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.57 MILES
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…
28.04 MILES
The 15th-century Palazzo Casa Fontana poi Gamberini – the fascinating, pricier-than-the-Colosseum home of eccentric Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla …
27.9 MILES
Bologna's most unique religious site is this atmospheric labyrinth of interlocking ecclesiastical structures, whose architecture spans centuries of…
27.95 MILES
Bologna's hulking Gothic basilica is Europe's sixth-largest church, measuring 132m by 66m by 47m. Work began on it in 1390, but it was never finished, and…
Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna
27.81 MILES
This mouthful of a museum inside Palazzo Sanguinetti – the former home of Napoleon's Italian minister – chronicles six centuries of European musical…
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Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah
0.95 MILES
Born by an Italian Parliamentary decree to create a National Holocaust Museum, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah partially opened in…
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27.94 MILES
The huge 14th-century battlements surrounding Montagnana represent one of the most complete medieval fortified complexes in Europe. The 2km-circuit,…
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1.18 MILES
Housed within what is arguably Ferrara's most beautifully preserved palace – the 1505 Palazzo Costabili – the city's national archaeological museum is…
Nearby Ferrara attractions
0.14 MILES
This early Renaissance palace houses three museums: the Museo Giovanni Boldini, dedicated solely to Ferrara-born Giovanni Boldini; the Museo dell…
0.14 MILES
Established in 1938, this museum – closed through to 2023 for restoration after suffering earthquake damage in 2012 – is home to the most important…
0.15 MILES
Normally housing an impressive collection of 19th-century religious, literary and historical art, this museum will be closed through to 2023 for…
4. Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Filippo de Pisis
0.15 MILES
While normally housing an extensive collection of works by native Ferrara painter and poet Filippo de Pisis (as well as a collection of paintings and…
0.27 MILES
Tucked away on the ground floor of Ferrara's Palazzo dei Diamanti, this museum houses high-profile special exhibits.
0.28 MILES
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…
0.28 MILES
Ferrara's art gallery, housed on the 1st floor of the late-15th-century Palazzo dei Diamanti, is the perfect spot to contemplate the genius of the 16th-…
8. Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza
0.35 MILES
Next door to Pinacoteca Nazionale, this small museum exhibits documents, proclamations and posters from the Italian unification movement and WWII, as well…