The "voices" evoked in the magazine's masthead intertwine and complement each other, not only in what is present but also in what is to come. The "voices" of the Foundation and the Cassa document the efforts to protect the economic and cultural heritage, and confirm the desire for expansion while focusing on the objectives of security and stability. There are "voices" which evoke the Ferrara…

Reviving an icon of Twentieth century architecture: Tresigallo. The history of the Fascist new towns begins with the Agro Pontino around Rome, when the great project to reclaim the marshes was launched.The idea of this project, and the steady progress it made, struck international public opinion as an extraordinary display of wisdom and ability. The town of Littoria (now Latina) was born, followed by Sabaudia,…

Major works from the Este court symbolize the identity of Ferrara in an outstanding exhibition. The Brussels exhibition, Une Renaissance singulière: La cour des Este à Ferrare was honoured with the accolade of "official" exhibition in the Europalia celebrations coinciding with the Italian Presidency in Belgium, and the opening ceremony was attended by the President of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi with his wife Franca, and…

The exhibition of the Ferrara Renaissance, Nino Barbantini and the Officina Ferrarese.In 1999 Francis Haskell brought his career to a close by sharing his experience at a seminar on art exhibitions, their long-standing tradition, and their often pointless or futile proliferation. I met him in the autumn in Mantua, and he asked me to send him in Oxford a brief account of the exhibition tradition…

The San Paolo monastery in the mid-sixteenth century, Michelangelo, and Cosmè Tura. A notarial document recently came to light, relating to the bequest of two important works of art to the New Library of the San Paolo monastery in Ferrara, in around the mid-sixteenth century. The bequest was made by Brother Vittorio, an organist and descendant of the prestigious aristocratic Avogari family. From the fourteenth…

Jewish Portuguese immigration and the transformation of Ferrara into a merchant city.Ercole II has gone down in history as a leader of armies and a patron of the arts, but he was also a wise statesman, a skilful administrator and a shrewd businessman. Historians have nevertheless paid scant attention to one of his boldest undertakings: the duke's plan to transform Ferrara into a merchant city…

From Ercole I's extension of the town, to the Green extension. In March 1979, Giorgio Bassani spoke to the Chamber of Commerce about something which was, at that time, just a pipe dream. He suggested that the perimeter of the ancient Barco del Duca be connected «with the River Po, as a type of moral riposte by the aesthetic of the city to the shifting…

Four canvases by Giuseppe Facchinetti restored by the Foundation. The story of Esther, the young Jewish girl of outstanding beauty whose courage and readiness to sacrifice herself enabled her to save her people from extermination, figures largely in Christian iconography as a prefiguration of the role of the Virgin in the Last Judgement. The most famous episode in the Biblical story depicts Esther appearing before…

Corrado Govoni, Oreste Marchesi and other "giants". The poetic vein, so rich and varied, permeated by a lucid madness and lightheartedness which characterises some of the verses of the Copparo writers, has its roots in the futurist movement. Tamara-born Corrado Govoni who published Le fiale exactly one hundred years ago, began his poetic career under the influence of the poet of Decadentismo, Gabriele d'Annuzio, but…

A centennial look back at an artist of Ferrara. Mimì Buzzacchi was born one hundred years ago, on 28 August 1903. After moving from Modena to our province, Emma, known as Mimì, took her first painting lessons from Edgardo Rossaro, a bizarre artist from Piedmont. For the impressionable sixteen-year old, this training was of considerable importance, especially in learning the use of the palette and…

The bicentenary of the first Italian circle. The origins of the Circolo Unione are closely linked with those of the civic theatre, the Teatro Comunale, which opened uncompleted in 1798. On taking up his position as papal legate in Ferrara, Cardinal Francesco Carafa responded to local calls for a theatre worthy of the name and of the city's musical traditions and resumed the construction project…

An unpublished short story by the celebrated writer of Ferrara. Ferrara began to welcome the first family members to its burial when my grandfather died. My grandfather is very close to the Certosa walls, almost in sight of the open country, as if, when allotted the tomb, he had succeeded in attracting the favour of someone prepared to help him escape, crossing the boundary wall…

A restoration in progress. The little Church of Saints Simon and Jude has very ancient origins. Situated in via Belfiore in the heart of the Byzantine castrum which is regarded as the first urban centre of Ferrara, the first records date back to the 12th century. In 1278 it acquired a parish, and a little later, in 1282, became a canonical prebend. In 1422 it…

The seventieth anniversary of Italo Balbo's transatlantic flight. Flight between Europe and the United States was long one of the great challenges of aviation. In 1914, only eleven years after the Wright brothers' flight, the Daily Mail offered a prize of £10 000 for the first transatlantic flight. The contest was postponed by the war, but resumed in 1919. In May, three American Curtiss seaplanes…

La sentenza della Corte Costituzionale stabilizza il quadro normativo e rende definitivo l'assetto delle Fondazioni bancarie. Le fondazioni (ex) bancarie italiane sono diventate maggiorenni. Dopo un periodo di grande attesa, dopo polemiche, tentativi di mediazione, passi avanti e repentine marce indietro, undici anni dopo la loro nascita, pare sia stata finalmente detta l'ultima parola sulla natura e missione dei nostri enti.Ed a pronunciarla non è…

In un anno tempestoso, la 'nave' Carife continua a navigare sicura, grazie al rafforzamento del gruppo e al nuovo aumento di capitale. Acque tempestose per l'economia, in questo 2003 che volge al termine. Ma non per la Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara, i cui risultati si sono confermati in controtendenza con l'andamento del sistema bancario. «La nave Carife ha continuato a navigare nel suo mare»,…

O deserta bellezza di Ferrara,ti loderò come si loda il voltodi colei che sul nostro cuor s'inclinaper aver pace di sue felicità lontane:e loderò la chiarasfera d'aere e d'acqueove si chiudela tua melanconia divinamusicalmente.E loderò quella che più mi piacquedelle tue donne morte e il tenue riso ond'ella mi deludee l'alta immagine ond'io mi consolonella mia mente.Loderò i tuoi chiostri ove tacquel'uman dolore avvolto nelle…

Ferrara. Voci di una cittàRivista semestrale di cultura, informazione e attualitàAnno 10, numero 19 - Dicembre 2003Registrata presso il Tribunale di Ferrara il 9 novembre 1994 con il numero 13/94. ISSN 1128-3572Spedizione in abbonamento postale c. 20/c, art. 2, l. 662/96Edizione fuori commercio, riservata ai soci e agli amici della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di FerraraComitato EditorialeFrancesca Bargellesi, Vittorio Emiliani, Giorgio Franceschini, Roberto Pazzi, Paolo…