Ferrara (Europa , opposite the post-office ; Stella d 'Oro , opposite the castle, R . 2 , L : 1 2, B . 12 fr. ; Tre Corone, R . 11/2, A . 42 fr., tolerable ; Ristoratore di Pasqua Crovetto , Piazza del Commercio , opp . the palace ; Caffè del Commercio , in the same piazza), situated near the ancient Forum Alieni, 31/2 M . S . of the Po, in the midst of a fruitful, but unhealthy plain . It is the capital of a Delegation , with 27 ,688 nhab . , and possesses broad , deserted streets , decaying palaces , and other imposing reminiscences of its golden period . It once numbered 100 ,000 inhab. , enjoyed great commercial prosperity , and was the seat of the renowned court of the illustrious House of Este , to which several great patrons of literature and art in the middle ages belonged. Ariosto and Tasso were among the most brilliant stars of this court.
The family of Este was of Tuscan extraction . Azzo 1. became Count or Margrave of Este under Emp. Henry III . His eldest son Welf (founder of the younger branch of the Guelphs) was invested with the Duchy of Bavaria , which had belonged to his grandfather, the last male representative of the elder branch of the Guelphs, and his son Henry the Proud became the founder of the families of Brunswick and Hanover . Giulio , the second son of Welf, was the ancestor of the dukes of Ferrara and Modena . Obizzo III. , who added Modena and Reggio to his dominions (d . 1352), considerably extended the power of his house , which from an early period was a liberal patron of art and science. In 1452 Borso received the title of Duke of Modena and Reggio from Emp. Frederick III. , and that of Duke of Ferrara from Pope Paul II. He died in 1471. His brother Hercules I. ( 1471 1505 ) , and the son of the latter, Alphonso I. ( 1505 - 34 ), husband of the infamous Lucrezia Borgia , were powerful and influential princes. Cardinal Hippolytus d ' Este, Archbishop of Milan , brother of Alpbonso , was the friend and patron of Ariosto . Hercules II. ( 1531 -- 58 ) , son of Alphonso , was the husband of Renata , daughter of Louis XII. of France , patroness of the Reformers Calvin and Marot, to whom she accorded an asylum . Having declared herself in favour of the reformed doctrines, she was separated from her husband and children . Her son Alphonso II. (1558 - 97 ) raised the glory of Ferrara to its culminating puint, but with him the family became extinct , his three marriages being childless. He was the patron of the poets Tasso and Guarini (author of the Pastor Fido ', born at Ferrara in 1537, died at Venice in 1612). Gathe in his Torquato Tasso ' has drawn a faithful picture of the court of Ferrara about the year 1575 , although a somewhat ideal colouring has been imparted to some of the characters. His description of the attachment of Tasso to Eleonora ( 1537 - 81) , the youngest unmarried sister of the duke , is however not without foundation . Anna ( 1531 - 1607) , one of the sisters, was married to the Duc de Guise , and after wards to the Duc de Nemours ; Lucrezia ( 1534 - 98 ) , the other sister , was the wife of the Duke of Urbino . Alphonso II . was succeeded by Cesare d ' Este , descendant of a natural son of Alphonso I . , but only as duke of Modena and Reggio , Ferrara and Comacchio having been claimed by Pope Clement VIII. as vacant fiefs. In the history of art and science the renown of the House of Este is immortal.
“Whoe' er in Italy is known to fame
This lordly House as frequent guest can claim .'
Several celebrated painters who lived at Ferrara must also be mentioned : ('osimo Tura, a pupil of Mantegna ; Lorenzo Costa , who subsequently became a follower of Francesco Francia at Bologna ; then , at the commencement of the 16th cent. , Dosso Dossi and Benvenuto Tisio , surnamed Garofalo ( 1481 - 1559 ) , an adherent of Raphael. Titian also occasionally resided at Ferrara , where he painted his ' Cristo della Moneta ', now at Dresden .
The * Palace ( Pl. 17 ), an ancient and picturesque edifice with four towers, is situated in the centre of the town. It is now the seat of the local authorities, the telegraph -office , etc . The custodian shows several dungeons, and among them one at the base of the lion tower', where on May 21st, 1425 , the Marquis Nicholas III. caused his faithless wife Parisina Malatesta and his natural son Hugo , her paramour , to be beheaded . Lord Byron in his poem of ‘Parisina' substitutes the name of Azzo for Nicholas as being more metrical. The Sala del Consiglio (or Sala de' Giganti) in the building of the prefecture , contains frescoes by Dosso Dossi , representing wrestling -matches of the ancient palæstra. The Sala delĽ Aurora , with frescoes by the same master , is accessible only by special permission of the prefect.
The Piazza Grande ( Ariostea ) is adorned with a Statue of Ariosto on a lofty Corinthian column with pedestal.
Th : * Cathedral ( 8 . Paolo , Pl. 1 ) , of 1135 , possesses an imposing façade with three series of round arches, one above the other. The projecting portal, adorned with sculptures and four lions, was added at a subsequent period . The tower rises above the choir, The spacious interiour is adorned with paintings of no great value by Garofalo , Cosimo Tura , Dosso Dossi, and Guercino ( St. Lawrence ). At the S. corner of the cathedral rises a handsome Campanile of four massive stories , erected under Ercole II. ( p . 181) .
S . Francesco (Vl. 7 ) , dating from the end of the 15th cent. , is entirely covered with domes. The interior, consisting of nave and aisles with chapels on each side , is adorned with frescoes and other paintings by Gurofalo , Ortolano, etc, and monuments of the House of Este , also that of Giambattista Pigna , secretary of Alphonso II. and rival of Tasso. A famous echo here (at the commencement of the nave ) is said to answer 16 times when awakened with due energy.
S . Benedetto (Pl. 3 ) , dating from the same period , consists of nave and aisles supported by pillars , with a series of chapels on each side . The circular vaulting is interrupted by the domes. The monument of Ariosto was removed hence to the library (p . 183) in 1801. The former monastery is now a hospital. It is adorned with frescoes by Scarsellino and Dosso Dossi ; that of the ante - chamler of the refectory bears a representation of Paradise , with saints and angels , among which Ariosto caused himself to be painted .
S . Domenico (Pl. 6 ) is adorned with statues on the façade by Ferreri, and with paintings in the interior by Garofalo and Curlo Bonone. The celebrated Celio Calcagniniof Ferrara (1479 _ 1541 ), who to some extent anticipated Copernicus in his discoveries respecting the solar system , the contemporary and friend of Ariosto, bequeathed his library to the adjacent inonastery. His bust is placed over the entrance ; and beneath it is inscribed his humi liating avowal, that the principal lesson he had derived from his long and indefatigable studies was to despise knowledge and everything human .
S . Maria del Vado (Pl. 11 ) , one of the oldest churches of Ferrara., consists of a nave divided into three parts with flat ceiling resting on 10 columns , and surmounted by a dome sup ported by pillars. It contains admirable paintings by Carlo Bonone (Marriage of Cana, Coronation of Mary, etc .), Dosso Dossi, and Palma Vecchio .
S . Puolo (Pl. 13) is adorned with paintings by Bonone and Scursellino , and contains the monument of Antonio Montecatino , the friend and minister of Alphonso II.
The * Palazzo de' Diamanti (Pl. 30 ) , a handsome square structure, erected in 1492 and remodelled in 1567, contains the Ateneo Civico and the Civic Picture Gallery (open daily 9 - 3 o'clock ) , most of the pictures in which have been obtained from suppressed churches. Garofalo and Dosso Dossi are particularly well represented .
1st Room : 87 . Tintoretto , Madonna del Rosario , with SS . Dominicus, Maurice, and George. - 2 nd Room : 74 . Panetti ( d . 1631 , master of Garo falo ) , Annunciation ; 18 . Boccaccino (d . 1515 ), Death of the Virgin ; 23 . Costa (1480 - 1530 ) , Adoration of the Child with 4 smaller pictures. — 3rd Room : 45 . Garofalo , Large fresco , symbolical of the victory of Christianity over Judaism . - 4th Room : * 72 . Palma Vecchio, Jesus and the Pharisees ; 28 . Cremonese , St. Mark ; * 48 . Garofalo , Madonna del Riposo ; 47. Garofalo , St. Peter the Martyr ; 26 . Carpi (d . 1567 ) , St. Antony of Padua, causing an in fant to speak and bear testimony to the honour of its mother ; * 46 . Garo falo, Adoration of the Magi. -- '5th Room : 31. Dosso Dossi, St. John the Evangelist in the island of Patmos ; 49. Garofalo , Madonna del Pilastro ; 50 . Garofalo , Adoration of the Magi ( the artist has painted a 'garofalo ' or car nation by way of signature ) ; 73 . Panetti , Mary' s meeting with Elisabeth ; 51. Garofalo , Christ on the Mt. of Olives. - 6th Room : 60 . Guercino, Beheading of St. Maurelius ; 53. Garofalo , Slaughter of the Innocents ; 56 . Garofalo , Finding of the Cross ; *55 . Garofalo , Raising of Lazarus. - 7th Room : 89. Timoteo della Vite , Assumption . -- 8th Room : 33. Dosso Dossi , Madonna surrounded by saints, a very large picture in several divisions. The * Studio Pubblico or Università ( Pl. 22) , a school of me dicine , mathematics and jurisprudence , contains a valuable collec tion of coins and Greek and Latin inscriptions , and a Library of 100,000 vols . and 1100 MSS. Among the latter are several cantos of the 'Orlando Furioso' in Ariosto 's handwriting , with numerous corr. ctions, and a copy of Tasso 's "Gerusalemme Libe rata' , likewise with corrections ; also letters written by Tasso in prison ; Guarini' s MS. of the 'Pastor Fido'; a number of ancient illuminated choir - books. Among the printed books are 52 old editions of Ariosto . His monument, formerly in S . Benedetto , has also been preserved here since 1801.
The simple House of Ariosto (Pl. 25 ) , which he erected for himself and occupied during the latter part of his life, Via dell' Ariosto No. 67, has been the property of the town since 1811 . It bears the inscription , composed by the poet himself:
‘Parva, sed apta mihi, sed nulli obnoxia , sed non
Sordida , parta meo sed tamen aere domus. '
A few reminiscences of Ariosto are shown in the interior,
Whilst the poet was studying law , which however he soon exchanged for poetry, he resided in the Casa degli Ariosti, near the church of S . Maria di Bocche. He quitted this house on his father's death . Guarini's House still belongs to his descendants.
The Hospital of St. Anna (entrance in the Stradella Giovecca, next door to the Europa , Pl. 29) is interesting as the place where Tasso was kept in confinement for seven years (from 1579) by order of Alphonso II . It is generally supposed the poet in curred the displeasure of his patron by his passion for the Prin cess Leonora , the sister of Alphonso. The dungeon in which he is supposed to have been incarcerated is shown . The names of Byron and other poets are written on the walls.
In the church of S . Giorgio , outside the Porta Romana, Pope Eugene IV . opened the council convened with a view to effect a union of the Greek and Roman churches , in the presence of the Greek Emp. John Palæologus in 1438 . This locality being considered unhealthy , the seat of the Council was afterwards transferred to Florence,