Ferrara

 

(fār-rä'rä) , city (1991 pop. 138,015), capital of Ferrara prov., in Emilia-Romagna, N Italy. It is a rich industrial and agricultural center, located on a low-lying, marshy plain that has much reclaimed land. Manufactures include chemicals, machinery, food products, metals, and refined petroleum. In the early 13th cent. the Este family founded in Ferrara a powerful principality, and during the Renaissance commerce, learning, printing, and the arts flourished about the brilliant court. The 15th-century painters Cossa and Tura and the 16th-century writers Tosso and Ariosto lived in Ferrara, and the religious reformer Savonarola was born there (1452). The city was incorporated into the Papal States in 1558. Among Ferrara's many noteworthy buildings are Este castle (14th cent.), the cathedral (begun 1135), Schifanoia palace (14th–15th cent.), and the Palazzo del Diamanti (15th–16th cent.). The city has a university (founded 1391).

For the American manufacturer of emergency services equipment see Ferrara Fire Apparatus

Comune di Ferrara
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province	Ferrara (FE)
Mayor	Gaetano Sateriale (since June 13, 2004)
Elevation	m ( ft)
Area	km² ( sq mi)
Population (as of December 31, 2004)
- Total
- Density	/km² (/sq mi)
Time zone	CET, [[UTC+1]]
Coordinates	44°50′N, 11°37′E
Gentilic	Ferraresi
Dialing code	0532
Postal code	44100
Frazioni	Aguscello, Albarea, Baura, Boara, Borgo Scoline, Bova, Casaglia, Cassana, Castel Trivellino, Chiesuol del Fosso, Cocomaro di Cona, Cocomaro di Focomorto, Codrea, Cona, Contrapò, Corlo, Correggio, Denore, Focomorto, Francolino, Gaibana, Gaibanella, Sant'Egidio, Malborghetto di Boara, Malborghetto di Correggio, Marrara, Mezzavia, Monestirolo, Montalbano, Parasacco, Pescara, Pontegradella, Pontelagoscuro, Ponte Travagli, Porotto, Porporana, Quartesana, Ravalle, Sabbioni, San Bartolomeo in Bosco, San Martino, Spinazzino, Torre della Fossa, Uccellino, Viconovo, Villanova
Patron	St. George
- Day	April 23
Website: www.comune.ferrara.it

Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Italy
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, v, vi
Reference	733
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	1995  (19th Session)
Extensions	1999
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, 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, when it hosted the court of the house of Este.

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.

History

The origin of Ferrara is uncertain; it is unlikely that it occupies the site of the ancient Forum Alieni, as some suppose. It was probably settled by the inhabitants of the lagoons at the mouth of the Po; there are two early centers of settlement, one round the cathedral,^[1] 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 Aistulf of 754,^{[citation needed]} 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 Adelardi (or Aleardi).

In 1146, Guglielmo Adelardi, the last of the Adelardi, died, and his property passed, as the dowry of his niece the Marchesella, to Azzo VI d'Este. There was considerable hostility between the newly entered family and the Salinguerra, but after considerable struggles Azzo VII Novello 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.

During the reign of Ercole 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 especially for music. 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.

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).

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. He had no legitimate male heir, and in 1597 Ferrara was claimed as a vacant fief by Pope Clement VIII, as was also Comacchio.

During the reign of Alfonso II, Ferrara once again developed 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. Visitors came to hear the spectacular productions of the Este musicians, the activities of which mostly ceased in 1598 with the demise of the Este court.

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. The town remained a part of the states of the Church, the fortress being occupied by an Austrian garrison from 1832 until 1859, when it became part of the kingdom of Italy.

Main sights

The town is still surrounded by more than 9 kilometres of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries^[2]

The most prominent building is the square Castello Estense, in the centre of the town, a brick building surrounded by a moat, with four towers. It was built after 1385 and partly restored in 1554; the pavilions on the top of the towers date from the latter year.

Near it is the hospital of Santa Anna, where the poet Torquato Tasso was confined during his attack of insanity (1579–1586).

The Palazzo del Municipio, rebuilt in the 18th century, was the earlier residence of the Este family. Close by it is the cathedral of San Giorgio, consecrated in 1135, when the Romanesque lower part of the main façade and the side façades were completed. It was built by Guglielmo degli Adelardi (d. 1146), who is buried in it. The upper part of the main façade, with arcades of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century and the portal has recumbent lions and elaborate sculptures above. 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. In the university took their degree Nicolaus Copernicus (1503) and Paracelsus.

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, so named for the diamond points into which the facade's stone blocks are cut. It 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 Tisio (il Garofalo).

The Archivio Storico Comunale contains a relevant amount of historical documents, starting from 15th century. The Archivio Storico Diocesano is more ancient, mentioned in documents in 955, and contains precious documents collected across the centuries by the clergy. Many libraries also enrich this town, which possesses a cultural heritage of extraordinary importance.

The Monastero del Corpus Domini contains tombs of the Estes, including Alfonso I, Alfonso II, Ercole I, Ercole II, as well as Lucrezia Borgia, Eleonora d'Aragona, and a dozen others.

Other sites include:

• The Cathedral (12th century)
• The historic Teatro Communale (Community Theatre)
• The Certosa
• The church of San Francesco (by Biagio Rossetti)
• The church of San Benedetto
• The church of Santa Maria in Vado
• The church of San Domenico
• The church of San Paolo
• The church of San Giorgio
• The Renaissance church of San Cristoforo
• The Palazzo Schifanoia, built in 1385 by Alberto V d'Este. It 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 of Padua. The building also contains fine choir-books

with miniatures and a collection of coins and Renaissance medals.

• The Palazzo della Ragione ("Palace of Reason"), built in Gothic style in 1315-1326 (the original one has been destroyed during World War II).
• The simple house of the poet Ludovico Ariosto, erected by him after 1526 and in which he died in 1532.

Synagogues and a 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 ghetto in which the Jews were separated from the rest of the population of Ferrara from about 1627 to 1859.

Ferrara in culture

Tha famous friar Girolamo Savonarola and the musician Girolamo Frescobaldi were both born in Ferrara, as well as the painters Giovanni Boldini (1842) and Filippo de Pisis (1896).

Apart from Tasso and Ariosto, the other notable Renaissance writer Matteo Maria Boiardo worked here. Ferrara was able to develop its own lineage or School of painters and artists. The list of painters and artists living in Ferrara must be completed with the names of Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Leon Battista Alberti, Pisanello, Piero della Francesca, Rogier van der Weyden, Battista Dossi (brother of Dosso Dossi) and Titian.

The Ferrara Bible was a translation of the Old Testament into Ladino (Judaeo-Spanish) by Sephardic Jews and dedicated to Ercole II.

Ferrara was the setting of the famous novel Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Contini) by Giorgio Bassani and of its movie adaptation by Vittorio De Sica in (1970). Wim Wenders and Michelangelo Antonioni's Al di là delle nuvole in (1995) and Ermanno Olmi's Il mestiere delle Armi in (2001), a film about the last days of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, were also shot here. The Palium of St. George is a typical medieval feast 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 of this kind.

In addition, Ferrara is becoming the Italian capital of hot air balloons thank to the Ferrara Balloons Festival, the biggest balloons Fiesta in Italy and one of the biggest in Europe. Ten days of fun and flights just above Ferrara.

Ferrara is the birthplace and childhood home of the well-known Italian film director, Michelangelo Antonioni who died in July 2007. The Mayor of Ferrara has announced that his museum, which was closed for renovation, will not reopen and no museum dedictated to Antonioni's cinema work will be opened.^{[citation needed]}

Twin towns

Ferrara is twinned with:

• Krasnodar, Russia
• Lleida, Spain
• Saint-Étienne, France
• Swansea, United Kingdom
• Koper, Slovenia

Politics

After the municipal elections on June 12 and 13 2004, the division of the 40 seats in the Ferrara city council was as followed:

• Democratici di Sinistra - 15
• Forza Italia - 8
• Alleanza Nazionale - 6
• La Margherita - 2
• La Rosa nel Pugno - 2
• Io amo Ferrara - 2
• Rifondazione Comunista - 2
• Comunisti Italiani - 2
• Verdi per la pace - 1

External links

• Official Tourism Office Site - Six Languages
• Official site
• The Comunale Theatre
• Ferrara Balloons Festival - the biggest Hot Air Balloons Fiesta in Italy
• Ferrara Buskers' Festival
• Palazzo dei Diamanti - Ferrara National Museum of Art
• The University of Ferrara
• Local Newspaper

Notes

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Emilia-Romagna · Comuni of the Province of Ferrara
	Argenta · Berra · Bondeno · Cento · Codigoro · Comacchio · Copparo · Ferrara · Formignana · Goro · Jolanda di Savoia · Lagosanto · Masi Torello · Massa Fiscaglia · Mesola · Migliarino · Migliaro · Mirabello · Ostellato · Poggio Renatico · Portomaggiore · Ro · Sant'Agostino · Tresigallo · Vigarano Mainarda · Voghiera

World Heritage Sites in Italy
For official site names, see each article or the List of World Heritage Sites in Italy.
Aeolian Islands · Aquileia · Agrigento · Pompeii, Herculaneum, Torre Annunziata · Botanical Garden, Padua · Caserta Palace, Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, San Leucio Complex · Castel del Monte · Cilento and Vallo di Diano, Paestum, Velia, Certosa di Padula · Amalfi Coast · Crespi d'Adda · Ravenna · Cerveteri, Tarquinia · Ferrara · Florence · Assisi · Matera · Cathedral, Torre Civica, Piazza Grande, Modena · Naples · Genoa · Piazza del Duomo, Pisa · Pienza · Portovenere, Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore), Palmaria, Tino, Tinetto · Residences of the Royal House of Savoy · Valcamonica · Rome1 · Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy · San Gimignano · Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan · Val di Noto (Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa, Scicli) · Siena · Barumini nuraghes · Syracuse, Necropolis of Pantalica · Alberobello · Urbino · Val d'Orcia · Venice · Verona · Vicenza, Palladian Villas of the Veneto · Hadrian's Villa · Villa d'Este · Villa Romana del Casale
1 Shared with the Holy See.

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