For lovers of the Renaissance, the city of Ferrara is a treasure to be discovered, not surprisingly, its historic center, which has remained intact over the centuries, was included in 1995 by UNESCO in the list of places recognized as "world heritage", sealed by the prestigious title of Renaissance City. The transformation of the city from a small medieval center into a Renaissance city of international importance, praised for its wonders by Ariosto as the perfect synthesis of "Ars et Mars", is due to the d'Este family and the three brothers, Leonello, Borso and above all Ercole I d'Este, who dominated it from 1441 to 1505. To quote the words of the historian Jacob Burckhard (XIX century) “Ferrara was the first modern city in Europe”.The d'Este family, after having obtained the Lordship over the city with Azzo VI in 1212, had to wait for the advent of Borso, to be awarded with the title of Dukes, title that passed in 1471 to his successor brother Ercole. Among the honorary offices assigned to the latter, as a testimony to the increased international weight of the family, is the appointment under the reign of Edward IV of England, in June 1480, as a member of the order of the Garter through the Ambassador Sir Laurence Rainsford. Ercole was also a source of inspiration for the French Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez who dedicated to him the work entitled Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae.
Precisely the Hercules Dux Ferrarie was responsible for the process of architectural and urban change in the city of Ferrara which, breaking the traditional demolition scheme of old medieval buildings to replace them with new Renaissance buildings, proceeded with the addition to the existing urban system of a new complex, taking advantage of the free spaces of the outermost area of the city, hence the name "Addizione Erculea" or even “Terra Nova”. The architect Biagio Rossetti was put in charge of the direction of the works, with the aim of turning the wishes of the Duke of Ferrara into reality. From the close collaboration between the two, the project to build the walls to defend the city was born, above all with the goal to protect the city from the attacks of nearby Venice, which had always been eager to gain dominion over the Polesine territories. In about 10 years straddling the XV and XVI century the Addizione Erculea led to the creation of new roads, twelve new churches and about twenty new buildings. This modus operandi, today centuries later, allows tourists to follow a path across the city so to enjoy the medieval Ferrara with its narrow and winding streets in the area of Via delle Volte, and then continue the stroll, walking towards the Estense Castle, to reach and go along Corso Ercole I d'Este and immerse yourself in the Renaissance Ferrara.
The symbol par excellence of Renaissance Ferrara is Palazzo dei Diamanti, located in the area known as Quadrivio degli Angeli, central core of the city, at the crossroads between the nowadays streets known as Corso Ercole I d'Este and Corso Porta Mare / Corso Biagio Rossetti, it is flanked by two other splendid buildings from the same period such as Palazzo Turchi di Bagno (1498-1499) and Palazzo Prosperi-Sacrati (1493) and compared to them it seems to emerge in beauty as "primus inter pares". The name derives from the particular shape of the 8500 marble blocks that make up the facade. A local legend says that inside one of the blocks there is a real diamond hidden by Ercole I himself with the help of the master builder, who for reasons of secrecy, being the only one together with the Duke to know the correct location of the precious jewel, saw his tongue cut of but given this was not enough he was reduced to blindness as well.
Of particular beauty is the corner with the edge embellished with stone decorations, added in the XVII century, known as the Candelabra made by Gabrele Frisoni, which give the building a hierarchy of quality compared to the other two Palaces that make up the Quadrivio, and also a touch of elegance in contrast with the robustness of the marble blocks of the walls. The building according to the ferrarese urban tradition has a U-shaped plan with a courtyard inside and a well in the center.
The palace commissioned by Duke Ercole for his brother Sigismondo, designed by Biagio Rossetti, was started around 1493 to be completed around 1503. The large staircase and ceiling of the large first-floor hall are instead of a later period around 1559, when the palace was inherited by Cardinal Luigi d'Este. The decorative cycle, partially preserved and still visible today, belongs instead to the additional works of Cesare d'Este who inherited the palace in 1586. He was responsible for the large hall on the main floor and the "Benvenuto Tisi" rooms on the ground floor, and which today can be visited along the route of the Estense National Art Gallery “Pinacoteca Nazionale Estense” which is housed in the Palazzo dei Diamanti.
The Pinacoteca Nazionale is housed in the “piano nobile” of Palazzo dei Diamanti, and during the year it usually hosts different exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, both temporary and permanent.
The Pinacoteca, created in 1836, 4 years after the acquisition of the Palace by the Municipality of Ferrara, became the Pinacoteca Nazionale in 1958 when the State took it over from the Municipality. The aim was to preserve the local artistic works and prevent the ferrarese art from being dispersed, with the initial recovery of altarpieces from the churches suppressed by Napoleon or paintings purchased from private collections.
To date, the art collection includes works covering five centuries from the thirteenth to the nineteenth century, with paintings and canvases by Dosso and Battista Dossi, Bastianino, Garofalo, Guercino, Scarsellino, Mantegna, Ercole de Roberti, Jacopo Bellini, to name a few. The Costabili Polyptych is of great value, a work that takes its name from its client. Costabili was a prominent man of Renaissance Ferrara under Ercole I, as ambassador to the court of Ludovico il Moro between 1496 and 1500. The Polyptych, an imposing panel on oil, was made by Dosso Dossi and Garofalo.
Address:
Corso Ercole I d’Este 21 – 44121 Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Open:
winter: every day from Monday to Sunday – 9.00 am/7.00 pm
summer: every day from Monday to Sunday – 10.00 am/8.00 pm
Price € 11
Concession € 9
List of photos:
01 - Palazzo dei Diamanti, General View
02 - Palazzo dei Diamanti, Candelabra
03 - Quadrivio degli Angeli
04 - Palazzo dei Diamanti, marble block close up
05 - Palazzo dei Diamanti, courtyard
Paitings from the Pinacoteca Nazionale
06 Bastianino
07 Polyptych Constabili
08 Tintoretto
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Self-confessed history addicted and Ireland obsessed, Francesca was born in Ferrara and bred italian, and when, 21 years ago, given the chance to go to the Emerald Isle, she made it her second home, since then she’s spent her life going there and back between the 2 countries. She has a BA in Political Sciences with a thesis in geopolitcs about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. When not busy working on legal documents, she loves to spend her time travelling, reading books, giving lectures pro-bono about irish history for a charity organization in the city where she lives. She also enjoys to relax studing and following online courses on Futurelearn platform and so far she’s got certificates on courses about The Tudors, England at the time of Richard III, The Book of Kells and Empire: the controversies of british imperialism. Since speaking 3 languages is not enough for her, after english and spanish, she’s now learning irish.