Palazzo Schifanoia

Cavalli, somari, personaggi noti e perfetti sconosciuti in piazza Ariostea per la prima riedizione degli antichi giochi.

Piazza Ariostea, a Ferrara, è uno spazio rettangolare più vasto di un campo di calcio. E sembra ancor più ampio perché le case, sui quattro lati, sono basse e relativamente anonime tranne due edifici - Palazzo Mazzucchi e Palazzo Rondinelli - che con la loro austera nobiltà rompono quella quiete orizzontale.

Al centro della piazza svetta, bianca e altissima, la colonna che regge la statua di Ludovico Ariosto ritto in piedi, la lira al fianco, lo sguardo perso in lontananza ben oltre i tetti circostanti. Tra il traffico che gira torno torno e il verde prato centrale riservato ai giochi dei bambini e alle soste dei pensionati si leva una cornice di platani dalle foglie d'un color verde mielato.

A new exhibition is to assess the influence of Cosmé Tura and Ercole de' Roberti on the illuminators of their day.
On the 25th of November 1995, in the Salone dei Mesi in Palazzo Schifanoia, a solemn ceremony was held to open the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the deaths of Cosmé Tura (c. 1430 - 1495) and Ercole de' Roberti (c. 1450 - 1496). The celebrations included a long and intense programme of meetings and visits, which in the course of two six-monthly sessions focused on and furthered our knowledge not only of the personalities of the two major exponents of the Ferrarese Workshop but also the many-sided and complex topic of the arts in Ferrara during the second half of the 15th century.

On the trail of the strange pilgrimage of ornamental elements and works of art.
The marbles that walked is the story of the vicissitudes of certain ornamental elements that wound up being used in buildings different from those for which they were originally intended. A story of times gone by and of places in which marble was precious, hard to find and therefore very costly; places such as Ferrara, which is a glorious monument to the brick.

We could begin in Corso Cavour and observe the portal of the Stock Exchange: an architectonic composition created towards the end of the 17th century with marble elements of diverse provenance, including the "icon FROM the high altar" of the church of San Benedetto. Then we come to the church of San Francesco, and pause in front of the side entry in via Savonarola.

The celebrated work of the Ferrarese painter reveals a profound significance.
One of the principal difficulties one encounters in a review of Cosmé Tura's artistic development arises from the virtual impossibility of finding reliable historical documentation regarding the surviving works. In point of fact the archives provide plenty of information and dates relative to the high standards of craftsmanship that the artist was never to forswear throughout his long career.

A large hoard of coins discovered at Ro Ferrarese throws new light on circulation of currency
Carefully restored by the Civic Museum of Ancient Art, the treasure trove has recently made an appearance thanks to the joint involvement of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara and the city of Ferrara.

The money recovered was in a variety of denominations. Over 50% of the silver coins were from the Venice area (103 coins), with others from Ferrara (60) and Mantua (39); the remaining few were from Ancona, Bologna, Modena, Reggio and Milan.