This issue mainly focuses on a number of events and reflections on the increasingly widespread cultural aspects of our city, and includes pieces on art, literature, cinema, and history. There are reports on two exhibitions that were held in Ferrara, one by Chiara Vorrasi on the wonderful Mirò exhibition which has just finished up at the Palazzo dei Diamanti, and another by Lola Bonora who…

Miró’s love for his native Catalonia is celebrated in a wonderful retrospective of his work.Celebrated as one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, Joan Miró played a fundamental role in the development of some of the more important art trends of the day such as surrealism and automatism, but was never held prisoner to any of them. The aim of this retrospective held…

The missing piece from the crucifixion of Santa Caterina the Martyr. We Ferrara inhabitants know that frescoes detached from numerous churches in the city are kept at the Casa Romei Museum. One of these is the fresco from the Santa Caterina the Martyr church, which also includes a Crucifixion from the middle of the XIV century and which is attributed to an unidentified Ferrara artist.…

Filippo de Pisis at Moretti's house in 1917. In the summer of 1917, a twenty-one year-old Filippo de Pisis arrived in Cesenatico. The young artist was with his family, but the need to carve out some time and space for himself led him to take lodgings in the house of the poet, Marino Moretti, who wasn’t there at the time. De Pisis records his feelings…

A lucid view of contemporary society deriving from a rigorous aesthetic research Selecting an artist for the XIII edition of the Biennale Donna is an important and prestigious task. In choosing Mona Hatoum, one is presenting an artist whose work complements and completes the artistic and cultural themes of the previous two editions. The choice of Mona Hatoum shows itself to be perfectly in line…

Da "tra donne sole/Woman on their own" by Cesare Pavese to "Le amiche/The girlfriends" by Michelangelo Antonioni. A film, one of Michelangelo Antonioni’s lesser known ones, was adapted from a great story by Cesare Pavese. Everything possible has already been said about Pavese, starting from the suicide that seemed to be a carbon copy of that committed by Rosetta, one of the characters in Tra…

A short history of the only Italian agricoltural company to be listed on the stock exchange. The company was established by deed of incorporation in England in 1871 under the name “Ferrarese Land Reclamation Company Limited”. The business purpose was the “reclamation of lakes, the purchase of marshland and lands around Ferrara and in other locations in the Kingdom of Italy, as well as the…

The identification of the Roverella brothers in the polyptych of Cosmè Tura. It doesn’t seem possible that a Ferrara polyptych, painted by Cosmè Tura at the peak of his abilities, could find itself scattered on such an international scale. Three of the original six panels still survive as well as part of a fourth, according to a well-tested reconstruction made by Roberto Longhi as far…

A prestigious book on a great cultural tradition. We should make special note of publication of the book by Adriano Franceschini on the Presenza ebraica a Ferrara [“Jewish community in Ferrara”] which gathers together an extraordinary set of documentary evidence comprising 1300 accounts between the II century and 1492 when a group of Jewish families came to Ferrara from Spain upon the invitation of Ercole…

At the down of the twenty-first century, Ferrara aims at firmly re-establishing a tradition that had fallen quiet with time. Bells have long played a leading role in Italian society, as well as other societies. Even though at first glance they may appear to represent a divisive element between religious and lay people, it is fairly clear that bell ringing is more conducive to dialogue…

The 1645 Corografia del Dvcato di Ferrara (Chorography of the Duchy of Ferrara) by Bartolomeo Gnoli. The Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara Foundation recently purchased a valuable seventeenth century map on the antique market, the Corografia del Dvcato di Ferrara con parte degli Stati al medemo Dvcato confinanti (Chorography of the Duchy of Ferrara with parts of the states bordering the Duchy) set out on…

The topography of buffaloes in Renaissance Ferrara. Buffaloes played an important part in the life of the House of Este for many years. The first indication of their presence is noted in the financial records of Eleonora of Aragon in 1481, although she had most likely brought the buffaloes with her from Naples. Her daughter in law, Lucrezia Borgia would do the same thing twenty…

An imaginary interview with the mayor in one hundred years time. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me Mr. Mastellari….” I look at the mayor of Ferrara and it’s amazing but I simply can’t put an age to him. His face is smooth, wrinkle-free, his smile is neutral, and his hair is perfect. He is wearing a white linen jacket over an ivory shirt, closed…

The Poggio Renatico estate in an 18th century manuscript. We are in the library of an illustrious Bologna family when the host hands us a carefully preserved parcel. We open it and are deeply moved when we realise that we are holding a handwritten register dating from the 1700s (the author calls it a Summary), containing thousands of documentary references to one of the most…

The acerbic moods of a great admirer of the Ferrara area: Mario Soldati The memory of Mario Soldati, writer, director, author of unforgettable television reports is linked in a special way to the Po river and the majestic, crowded marshes that terminate in the Ferrara and Polesine delta. He actually filmed an unforgettable documentary on the search for genuine food and wine along the river…

The Order honors the city that welcomed it with a philatelic emission. Which are the historical reasons that determined the choice of Ferrara, decided by pope Leone XII, to protect the Order from the greed of those who aimed to confiscate its assets, as the French and English did after the occupation of the island of Malta? The government of Naples from which Catania depended,…

The importance of ancient dwellings in the history of our region. Today the surviving casoni are only a few; we see them solitary on the banks of the few marshes saved from the reclamations; however, they remain an important character of the fascinating landscape of the valleys. They were watch-towers for the guards assigned to the surveillance against the poachers, or dwelling for the vallanti,…

An ill-fated and ironic gambler in mid XVIth century Ferrara. The Invettiva contro il gioco del tarocco (Invective against the game of tarots) by Alberto Lollio appeared in 1550 for the types of Gabriel Giolito, an important publisher in Venice, and was often reprinted in the following years. tyhe goal of the author of this work is to discredit the game, to unveil its malignant…

Seguire e assecondare le iniziative per stimolare la crescita economica, sociale e culturale del territorio ferrarese Tra la fine di aprile e l'inizio di maggio si sono tenute prima l'Assemblea degli Azionisti della Cassa di Risparmio della Carife S.p.a. e quindi l'Assemblea dei Soci e dell'Organo d'Indirizzo della Fondazione Carife. In occasione di questi due importanti eventi si è dato spazio alla riflessione sulla Fondazione…

Un anniversario importante, che marca un momento fondamentale della crescita della Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara 170 anni sono stati un percorso, non soltanto lunghissimo, ma costantemente in crescita, che ha attraversato enormi cambiamenti sociali, storici, economici, istituzionali e tecnologici del nostro Paese.In tutto questo tempo la Banca ha sempre cercato d'ispirarsi alla concretezza e al senso di responsabilità; a un approccio che, evolvendosi secondo…

Lo vidi passando di volo, nella sera limpida Conduceva per la cavezza due grandi buoi al pozzo.Era tutto azzurro intenso, un pò più azzurro del verde rame per le viti.Fissai i suoi occhi castani: luccicaron di gioventù e di forza, come quellidi un falchetto lontano fra il verde della campagnaFilippo De Pisis - Il contadino azzurro  - 30 agosto 1919

Ferrara, Voci di una cittàRivista semestrale di cultura, informazione e attualità Anno 15, numero 28 - Giugno 2008Registrata 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 FerraraCOMITATO EDITORIALEFrancesca Bargellesi, Vittorio Emiliani, Giorgio Franceschini, Roberto Pazzi,…