How to get to Ferrara

Ferrara is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy along the Po River, south of Venice and Padua. It is a city of bicycles, but no doubt you'll want to arrive on motorized transport.

By Train

Ferrara is on the Bologna to Venice train line--33 trains a day originating from Bologna pass though Ferrara each weekday. Ferrara is an hour and a half by train from Venice. It is an hour to another interesting destination, Ravenna.
web site: » www.trenitalia.com

By Car

By car from the direction of Bologna, take A13 north. From Venice, take A4 southwest to Padua and continue on A13 south to Ferrara.
web site: »www.autostrade.it

By Bus

Bus info for Ferrara and the surrounding area is available at telephone 0532-599492. The bus from Modena takes one and a half hours.
web site: »www.acft.it

By plain

"G. Marconi" in Bologna, km. 45
"M. Polo" in Venice, km. 110
"Catullo" in Verona, km. 100
"L. Ridolfi" in Forlì, km. 120
"F. Fellini" in Rimini, km. 200

How to get to the conference

From the Main Railway Station the University can be easily reached by public transport. Directly in front of the station there is a bus stop for the number 9 service (tickets can be bought at the railway station or from slot-machines inside the station). After about 10 min ride you get off at the stop in front of the "Casa dello studente". From there, you have to take the first street on your right (Via Ugo Bassi) and then turn right at the first crossroads (Via Savonarola). For any details please use the map with well specified conference destinations

Artistic view of Ferrara

Ferrara is a true jewel, by no coincidence declared by Unesco as Heritage of Humanity, and has a lot to offer, in terms of architectonic works, culture and events. With regards to the latter, do not miss the last Sunday in May, the historic Palio di Ferrara, the Mille Miglia and the summer music festival Ferrara Sotto le Stelle, as well as the famous Ferrara Buskers’ Festivals at the end of August. Finally, the more recent, but now famous Ferrara Balloons Festival (end September), the largest Italian hot air balloon festival. The area is also famous for its wonderful food: Ferrara bread is, for example, considered the best.

@ History, art and culture of Ferrara: Ferrara was first mentioned by the Longobard king, Desiderio, in a document dated 753 AD. During the first few centuries of its existence, the city passed through various hands and was a Canossa fiefdom before finally being sufficiently free to declare itself independent. This was followed by years of internal fighting between the Guelfi party led by the Adelardi family and the Ghibelline (imperial) party led by Torelli-Salinguerra. However, in the long run and with considerable difficulty, it was the Este family who were the eventual winners and became the absolute rulers of the city.
The founding of the university in 1391 was the beginning of a great new era of cultural development and splendour that made the Este court one of the most important in Europe.
Some of the greatest students of humanities as well as the most important musicians of that time congregated in the city. Alongside such names as the diplomat Nicholas III, the intellectual Leonello, Borso, Ercole I who was responsible for the “Herculean Addition” to the city and Alfonso the soldier we find the names of princesses like the hapless Parisina Malatesta, the wise Eleonora d’Aragona, the beautiful and much maligned Lucrezia Borgia and the Calvinist intellectual Renata di Francia.
The little state always lived under threat from its powerful neighbours and was taken over by the Papal State in 1598 marking the beginning of a long period of decadence and decline. After the Napoleonic era, Ferrara was a major player in the Renaissance and later Italian Unification movements until finally becoming the modern city it is today. It has never lost touch with its deeply ingrained historical roots.

@ Renaissance city: The walled city of Ferrara is located in the middle of the Padana plain.
Amazingly intact, twisted mediaeval streets follow the course of a river that has long since disappeared. Palazzo Schifanoia shows the grandeur of its past in its magnificent ceilings and in the frescoes in the Sala dei Mesi. These depict scenes from the life of the Duke Borso and feature allegorical representations of the months combining to form one of the most elegant calendars in art of all time.
The centre is a meeting place surrounded by activity and style that is dominated by the buildings of the rich and powerful. There is the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral that is like a story with Universal Judgement as its key and the Este Castle that blends the magnificence of its rooms with dark blood stained memories. The magnificent 18th century Teatro Comunale sits quietly amid the folk doing some window shopping or having a relaxed coffee or silently gliding by on their bicycles.
The best-known image must be that of the Renaissance period during which the Este family contributed greatly to the splendour of the city and left indelible traces of their heritage. Some examples would be the enormous “Herculean Addition” project that vastly enlarged the size of the city; the impressive art works from the 14th and 15th centuries and the Giudizio Universale by Bastianino.
The Renaissance lives on in the white marble and red brick courtyards, in the precisely formed angles where roads intersect at the Quadrivio degli Angeli, in the houses, churches, palaces and in the long spacious streets of the city.

The city is today an important university center, is hosting a regional hospital medical centre, and is one of the most visited small art towns in Italy. The city walls, dating back to the Renaissance, are more than nine kilometers long and can be toured by feet or on a bicycle all around. The walls have also maintained almost intact their original appearance over the centuries. The heart of Ferrara is the Middle Ages town, with the Castello Estense and its Cathedral.

@ Castello Estense: In 1385 a dangerous revolt convinced Niccolò II d’Este of the need to erect mighty defences for himself and his family; thus the Castello di San Michele was built, a fortress erected against the people. Its imposing proportions, its moat, its drawbridges and its towers date back to that remote period. An elevated covered passageway, which still exists, joined the military building to the marquises’ Palace (today Palazzo Municipale). Centuries went by and the risk of riots died down. And so the castle became the magnificent residence of the court and was embellished with roof terraces at the top of the towers, marble balconies, the Renaissance-style courtyard (at the time fully frescoed) and sumptuous apartments.
The visit starts in the so-called Gothic Halls and the Kitchens. A narrow corridor and a low doorway lead on to the Prisons. A long ramp, originally used for artillery, leads to the ducal apartments. On the first floor, some rooms can be visited; unfortunately, they lack the original furniture, but have magnificent ceilings whose colours have lost none of their former splendour.

@ Cathedral: The Cathedral dates from the 12th century and bears witness to all the historical periods of the city. The outstanding façade, divided into three sections, was begun in Romanesque style, still visible in the lower part. Note the St. George and the scenes from the New Testament above the central door, the work of the sculptor Nicholaus (1135). The upper part was built some decades later in a Gothic style and besides the numerous small arches and the splayed mullioned windows presents an extraordinary Last Judgment by an unknown sculptor over the central loggia.
Under these sculptures there is an elegant Gothic loggia with a statue of the Virgin Mary and the Child, which dates from the early part of the 15th century and is attributed to Michele da Firenze. In the lower part of the facade, on the left, a memorial tablet recalls the passage of power in Ferrara from the Este family to Pope Clement VIII, whose head in bronze is placed above the marble plaque. To the right, in a niche, stands a statue of the marquis Alberto d’Este, founder of the university (1391). The side facing Piazza Trento Trieste is decorated with two galleries and small columns of various shapes. At ground level is the Loggia of the Merchants, occupied by shops since Medieval times. Half way along the south side what remains of the Porta dei Mesi, demolished in the 18th century can still be seen; some of its sculptures are conserved in the Cathedral Museum. The imposing Renaissance belltower, in pink and white marble, is an unfinished work attributed to Leon Battista Alberti. The brickwork apse, whose sober design is lightly embellished by terracotta arches and marble capitals, is the work of Ferrara’s top architect and town planner, Biagio Rossetti.

@ Palazzo dei Diamanti: The palace, at the centre of the Addizione Erculea, on the important crossroads known as the Quadrivio degli Angeli, belonged to the duke’s brother Sigismondo d’Este. Its name derives from over 8000 pink and white marble ashlars in the form of pyramids (or diamonds) that cover the two façades. The architect Biagio Rossetti rendered it a town-planning masterpiece by placing the most important decoration on the corner: a contrivance destined to highlight the importance of the crossroads and make the building an entirely original work, designed as it was to be viewed in perspective rather than from in front of the façade. Indeed, the corner adorned with splendid sculpted candelabras by Gabriele Frisoni and by a gracious balcony (added a little later) tends to lead the visitor towards the nearby Piazza Ariostea.
The building houses the Pinacoteca Nazionale and the Spazio Espositivo - Palazzo dei Diamanti.

@ Chiesa di S. Francesco: Erected in 1594 on a pre-existing Franciscan complex, the church is a masterpiece of the architect Biagio Rossetti. The interior is arranged as a Latin cross with three aisles. There are eight chapels on each side and its pure Renaissance geometrical proportions give an impression of great harmony. In the first chapel on the left is a wonderful fresco by Garofalo The Capture of Christ (1524). Alongside the fresco is a rare example of an altarpiece sculpted in stone, "Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane", flanked by frescoed portraits of the donators. In the right aisle, between the sixth and seventh chapel, we can admire a Christ on the Column in terracotta, from the early 15th century. In the right transept is the large Baroque mausoleum of Marquis Ghiron Francesco Villa while in the left transept there is a magnificent 5th-century Roman sarcophagus from Ravenna. Behind the main alter is a large triptych by Domenico Mona (1580-1583).

@ Jesuat convent: The complex of the Jesuat monastery cloisters has developed since its foundation in 1429 when Pietro Boiardi, the Bishop of Ferrara, gave permission to Giovanni Tavelli da Tossignano of the Order of the Poor Jesuats to erect “un oratorio con altare e cimitero” ( an oratory with an altar and a cemetery) in the town district (“contrada”, in Italian) of Santa Maria in Vado.
This religious order, for which Giovanni Tavelli served as a “Governatore delle Case” (a sort of housing manager) was widely popular in Ferrara and the oratory was completed in just one year, in 1430. It was then enlarged in 1445, 1451 and 1576.
Giovanni Tavelli, who would later become the Bishop of Ferrara, founded the Arcispedale Sant'Anna, which is still the name of the present town hospital.
The Jesuats, whose order was suppressed in 1668 by Pope Clemens IX, followed the rule of absolute poverty, would wear a simple cowl, sandals on their feet , and could not even enter religious orders if not under particular circumstances: in order to become Bishop of Ferrara, Tavelli received all the holy ordinations to the Episcopal one in just one night.
The protector of the Jesuats' order in Ferrara was Saint Jerome .
In 1669, the disposition of the convent was very similar to the present one, with the three cloisters and the church, which had originally been the Jesuats' Oratory ( called Oratorio dei Gesuati di San Girolamo o dei Poveri di Cristo), and that has subsequently been replaced with the present 18 th century building.
The chuch preserves the remains of Giovanni Tavelli da Tossignano, who has already been proclaimed blessed and whose sanctification process is underway.
Over the centuries the convent underwent a number of changes and alterations.
A recent and long restoration planned and performed by Chiara Montanari, has tried to recover the integrity of the original structure.
Besides the ancient cloisters, there is a series of fine decorations and notable frescoes in the corridors and rooms that have been made visible and usable again, like the Old Refectory , the fireplace room, the cellar or wood-shed, the monks' cells floor, the portals and portico.

Flavours

The popular country traditions and their simple and natural tastes, blended with the memories of the elaborate dishes of the ducal court, give birth to the Ferrarese cuisine and its special flavours.
Together with the “cappelletti” (a local variant of the more famous “tortellini”), the “capellacci”, filled with marrow squash and parmesan cheese, are very popular. There is also a great variety of fresh pasta made with eggs.
Not to be forgotten is the “Pasticcio di maccheroni” (Maccaroni Pie), a true triumph of the ancient courtesan traditions: a sweet short pastry filled with maccaroni in bechamel sauce and white bolognese sauce, flavoured with mushrooms and truffles.
Something that is always present on the Ferrarese table is our bread, called “coppia” (pair), unique for its twisted and elaborate shape.
The ingredients of the Ferrarese cuisine are products typical of the delta of the Po river, which range from the spontaneous herbs (officinal or not), to lagoon fish (of fresh water and saltish water or coming from fish-farms), from mushrooms and truffles to several species of game.
More typical are the fish dishes: eel, mullet, bass fish, sea fish, hen clam.
Rare but nonetheless interesting the ancient cuisine which used the marshland game.

Weather

Autumn is cool, damp and rainy, sometimes very rigid in its second part, which has characteristics typical winter.
Fortunately, in early October, usually you can still enjoy warm, sunny days! For details of the weather conditions please use the following link.