This is an edition full of celebrations. We celebrate the re-appearance of the first edition of the Orlando furioso, after five hundred years of oblivion, and two other monumental works, Paolo Baratella's great painting in the Cathedral's 'new' sacristy, and the much-loved church of San Giuliano. But we also celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of a scheme that encourages our young people to enjoy and appreciate…

A unique resource between natural excellence and development model The Po Delta-Emilia Romagna regional park, which extends over some 54.050 hectares, is the most important park in the Region and the largest in Italy. It covers part of the province of Ferrara and Ravenna, directly affecting the municipalities of Alfonsine, Argenta, Cervia, Codigoro, Comacchio, Goro, Mesola, Ostellato and Ravenna.The statutory aims of the Emilia-Romagna Park…

Villa architecture for a travelling courtOver a period of more than a century, from the 1400s until the Devolution of the Duchy of Ferrara, the ruling Este family scattered the countryside around with palaces, country houses and gardens which are known to historians as 'delizie'.This system of suburban and out of town residences made it possible to coordinate the administration of farms, forests and hunting…

A contemporary work in the heart of Ferrara's Cathedral The times were very different when Pope Paul VI welcomed artists to the Vatican and asked them sorrowfully, ''Can we make peace? Here and now? We ought to remain allies.'' It was 7 May 1964: Paul VI wanted to rebuild the links with the world of culture and the arts after the divorce declared by the…

Interview with Ilaria Pavan, author of a study on the political and personal experiences of Renzo Ravenna''An honest, capable man, endowed with an extraordinary concern for public affairs. And who never concealed his almost all-consuming love for Ferrara.'' This is how Ilaria Pavan, historical researcher at the Scuola Normale di Pisa, described Renzo Ravenna, the figure at the heart of her book Il Podestà ebreo,…

A group of Ferrara film-makers between film and televisionA number of film-makers from Ferrara have worked almost exclusively in television. These are people who trained in Ferrara during the 195 0s in the ranks of the Cineclub Fedic.Renzo Ragazzi, born in 1929, began to make documentaries in 1953 in partnership with Renato Dall'Ara and Walter Santesso. His directing debut came in 1958 with the documentary…

Thanks to the Fondazione, Ferrara regains a fifteenth century jewel On 13 June 2006 the former church of San Giuliano was finally returned to the Curia of our town, thanks to a generous donation from the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara. The Fondazione put up the necessary sum to buy the building at the liquidation auction in which it was offered for sale.This graceful…

A brief history of the Progetto Cinema Scuola on its thirtieth birthdayThe 'Cinema School Project' was initially launched in the autumn of 1976 and aimed to introduce students in Ferrara and the province to high quality cinema. There were three figures involved in this initiative, the first of its kind in Italy: the then president of the education department, Dr Giuseppe Inzerillo; Dr Alfredo Santini,…

Rendiconto di un anno dedicato alla crescita interna: nessuna acquisizione, ma tanto lavoro sul territorio Alcune sere fa, ad una cena a Ferrara, un commensale mi ha fatto simpaticamente notare che ''quest'anno la Cassa non ha fatto nulla, non ha comprato nemmeno una banca''. Ci ho riflettuto: quasi che la forza di un Gruppo bancario discenda dal numero e dalla frequenza delle acquisizioni più che…

Il Po di Volano appartiene al paesaggio della mia infanzia.Il Po a quello della mia giovinezza. Laggiù vive una ragazza...non è nemmeno innamorata di me.Dove ho letto questa frase ? Potrei farne il simbolo della nostra,mia e dei miei coetanei, giovinezza a Ferrara.Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964

Sixty years on, the writer goes searching for the treasures he overlooked as a childI find it mildly irritating that my identity card states that I was born in Bologna. It's quite true; a long, long time ago I was born in a Bologna hospital. The irritation is not because I have a problem with Bologna, which I think is, in many ways, an ideal…

TWe owe our first record of multiple sclerosis to a descendent of the Este. ''An 'Estense' neurologist is not complete without this book especially when his main love is multiple sclerosis''. With this dedication, my friend George Ebers, professor of Neurology at Oxford University and renowned researcher into multiple sclerosis, gave a me a book some years ago containing the notes in which a descendent…

A tale of words, books, and book-loversA new critical edition of the Orlando Furioso (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 2006) edited by Marco Dorigatti and based on the 1516 text was presented in Ferrara in December.In April 1516 Ariosto's great work had only been in print for a few months, and it was already being read and discussed everywhere. But the lively and ironic structures of…

The important story of an historic institution This volume, Etica, banca, territorio: il Monte di Pietà di Ferrara, explores the fascinating themes of the history, development and aims of Ferrara's Monte di Pietà, a charitable low-interest lending bank. Founded during the Renaissance, the organisation became a part of the newly established Cassa di Risparmio (savings bank) in 1838. Alfredo Santini's clear historical analysis traces the…

A fresh look at Conclave, L'erede, Il signore degli occhi and L'ombra del padreAfter a series of works focusing on an imaginary and visionary reworking of historical themes, Pazzi has taken an original look at the theme of the 'sacred'. Four novels have been published in the last five years (Conclave, L'erede, Il signore degli occhi and L'ombra del padre) in which religious issues become…

Una panoramica su alcune iniziative della Fondazione Carife Durante l'ultimo conflitto bellico sono state inferte profonde ferite anche al Tempio di San Cristoforo alla Certosa, progettato alla fine del Quattrocento da Biagio Rossetti. Il Tempio sorge nel complesso nato a metà del Quattrocento, che ospitava il monastero certosino. La comunità di religiosi, insediata in un'area originariamente isolata della città, con l'inclusione nell'Addizione Erculea perse la…

Ferrara voci di una cittàRivista semestrale di cultura, informazione e attualitàAnno 13, numero 25 - Dicembre 2006Registrata presso il Tribunale di Ferrara il 9 novembre 1994 con il numero 13/94. ISSN 1128-3572Spedizione in abbonamento postale c. 1, art. 1, l. 46/2004Edizione fuori commercio, riservata ai soci e agli amici della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara IN COPERTINAL'interno della Chiesa di Santa Maria in Vado,…