Situated in the middle of the Pianura Padana, Ferrara presents itself with a perfectly conserved atmosphere of its past, armonically fused with the lifefull one of its present. The most known image of it is for sure that of its greatest Renaissance, the time of Estense’s court splendour, that has given unforgettable signs, as the big project of the “Addizione Erculea” of Biagio Rossetti or the frescoes of the “Ferrarese School” of the XV and XVI centuries and in the “Giudizio Universale” of Bastianino. The Renaissance also lives in the courts of white marble and red brick, in the precious corners of the “Quadrivio degli Angeli”, in the houses, in the churches, in the palaces and in the long and large streets of the Renaissance city.

The centre of the city, favourite place of meeting, shows and animation, is dominated from the massive structures of power buildings: the Estense Castle, the ancient fortress of XVI century then manor of Este’s Dukes from the XV century, the beautiful Cathedral, armonical fusion of the gothic style and the roman one, that is like a big novel in the middle of which  we can read the Universal Judge and the Municipal Palace, that was the first residence of the Estensi.
All around there are shops and bars and the XVIII century  magnificence of the Communal Theatre.

From the Castle it starts the wide streets of the “Addizione Erculea”, the greatest urbanistic project wanted by the Duke Ercole the Ist (from whom the work takes its name) and realized by the architect Biagio Rossetti between the end of the XV century and the begin of the XVI, that rendered Ferrara “the first modern city of Europe” in the Renaissance. Its main function was that of to enlarge the city area and, at the same time, to make stronger the difensive system of the walls: the “Baluard of Barco” is one of the most ancient example of modern fortification.

The work, realized between 1492 and 1510, exalted the prestige of Estense court and put it in competition with the most important european courts. It consists of two main streets that connected the vital zones of the new “Addizione”: a long boulevard that run from the south to the north and connects the castle with the Porta degli Angeli to the walls (the present Corso Ercole I d’Este) and a very long street that run from east to west joining two gates near the bastions of the walls.
The two streets crossed themselves in the very famous Quadrivio degli Angeli, where it appears the Diamonds Palace and also the Prosperi-Sacrati Palace.
Others historical and artistic interesting places are the Diamone Palace and the National Picture Gallery, seat of a permanent show of important artistic works; Massari Palace with the permanent exposition of the works of the ferrarese painter Giovanni Boldini; Ariostea Square where every year, in the month of May, there is “the most ancient Palio of the world”; the Wall, an ancient fortified boundary that mantains intact its own splendour; Schifanoia Palace, the only “estense delizia” into the citizen walls, with its magnificent cycle of frescoes of the Salone dei Mesi, made by the Officina Ferrarese of the XV century; Paradiso Palace, seat of the Civic Library Ariostea, rich of precious old books and the first seat of the University; Palace of Marfisa of Este; Casa Romei; the Ludovico Ariosto’s house; the medieval quarter with their winding little streets, where the sun fatigues to enter, that follows the course of a disappeared river; the Jude Quarter and the Sinagogue..

At 30 km from Ferrara, towards the sea, we find Comacchio, the so-called “little Venice”, that is the most original of fascinating historical centre of the Po Delta. Heir of the ancient Spina, for longtime contended by Ferraresi and Ravennati, by Popes and Emperors, it has very ancient origins: it arose in fact at the dawnings of the Middle Age on 13 islets and it founded exclusively on the water his own urban and economic development.
Fishing, lagoon fish breeding, production of salt were the source of the prosperity but also of the reverses due to the fights that opposite it to Venice.
Today it is a city with unique and untouched architectonical carchteristics, where the people who live in are proud of its own roots and have a strong identity. It is a city full of canals, palaces and monumental bridges.

The present historical centre preserves a lot of evidences of the past: beautiful churches and monuments between the bridges onto the canals, first of all the “Trepponti” of the XVII century, ancient gate of the city, desired by the Cardinal Pallotta in the first half of the XVII century on plan of the architect Luca Danese. The “Trepponti” is formed by five steps buttress, at its side there is a little square that, every morning, is seat of the fishing market.

Really interesting it is the Museum of the Roman Ship, where you can see many exhibits found into a commercial boat of the Ist century B. C.
Along the canals are berthed the typical valley ship called “batane” with which you can see Comacchio from a suggestive point of view.