The Bentivoglio family ( Latin : Bentivoius ) was an Italian noble family that became the de facto rulers of Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance , although their rule did not survive a century.
76-532: The presence in Bologna of the Bentivoglio family is first recorded in 1323. Originally from the castle of that name in the neighborhood of Bologna, the family claimed descent from Enzio , King of Sardinia , an illegitimate son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor . During the fourteenth century, the family, belonging to one of the worker's guilds at Bologna, had gained power as pro-papist Guelph leaders in
152-599: A sonnet ( Tempo vene che sale chi discende ) are preserved. His fate and the fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was itself a source of inspiration for several poets, such as the Italian lyricist Giovanni Pascoli ( Canzoni di re Enzio , 1909). The powerful Bentivoglio family of Bologna and Ferrara claimed descent from him. Ferrara Ferrara ( / f ə ˈ r ɑːr ə / ; Italian: [ferˈraːra] ; Emilian : Fràra [ˈfraːra] )
228-512: A collection of coins and Renaissance medals. The Renaissance Palazzo Paradiso , part of the Ferrara University library system, displays part of the manuscript of Orlando furioso and letters by Tasso as well as Ludovico Ariosto 's grave. Its famous alumni include Nicolaus Copernicus and Paracelsus . The northern quarter, which was added by Ercole I in 1492–1505 thanks to the master plan of Biagio Rossetti , and hence called
304-595: A few years under Napoleon and during the 1848 revolution, the ghetto lasted until Italian unification in 1859. In 1799, the Jewish community saved the city from sacking by troops of the Holy Roman Empire . During the spring of 1799, the city had fallen into the hands of the Republic of France , which established a small garrison there. On 15 April, Lieutenant Field Marshal Johann von Klenau approached
380-590: A general trend in Italy and Europe, Ferrara has come to rely more on tertiary and tourism, while the heavy industry, still present in the town, has been largely phased out. After almost 450 years, another earthquake struck Ferrara in May 2012 causing only limited damage to the historic buildings of the town and no victims. The town of Ferrara lies on the southern shores of the Po river , about 44 km (27 mi) north-east of
456-484: A large urban park around the town and are a popular destination for joggers and cyclists. In 2007, there were 135,369 people residing in Ferrara, of whom 46.8% were male and 53.2% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 12.28% of the population compared to pensioners who number 26.41%. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06% (minors) and 19.94% (pensioners). The average age of Ferrara residents
532-410: A lombard branch of the family. A notable recent member of the family is Galeazzo Benti , originally Galeazzo Bentivoglio, 20th century actor. The Church of San Giacomo Maggiore , originally built in the mid-13th century, was adopted in the 15th century by the Bentivoglio family as the center of their power base in the surrounding neighborhood, and they embellished the church accordingly. It included
608-648: A major role in the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines in the Imperial kingdom of Italy , and was captured by his enemies in 1249. He remained imprisoned in Bologna until his death. Enzo was an illegitimate son of Frederick II by a certain Adelaide, possibly a member of the Swabian noble House of Urslingen and relative of Duke Conrad I of Spoleto . He was the second of the emperor's illegitimate sons and allegedly
684-812: A project—known as MEIS, after its initials in Italian—to be completed in 2021, with additional buildings that will create a major Jewish cultural hub and add exhibits focusing on the Jews in the Italian Renaissance and the Shoah. During the Renaissance the Este family, well known for its patronage of the arts, welcomed a great number of artists, especially painters, that formed the so-called School of Ferrara . The astounding list of painters and artists includes
760-517: A rich Jewish family during the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini and World War II . Furthermore, Wim Wenders and Michelangelo Antonioni 's Beyond the Clouds in (1995) and Ermanno Olmi 's The Profession of Arms in (2001), a film about the last days of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere , were also shot in Ferrara. In the third season of Medici (TV Series) , Girolamo Riario 's men seize Ferrara, 100 miles from Florence and takes their salt. Based on
836-681: Is Alan Fabbri of the Lega Nord . The urban organisation is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114), the Municipal Statute and several laws, notably the Legislative Decree 267/2000 or Unified Text on Local Administration ( Testo Unico degli Enti Locali ). The current division of the seats in the city council, after the 2019 local election, is the following: The imposing Este Castle , sited in
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#1732775819515912-460: Is pasticcio di maccheroni , a domed macaroni pie, consisting of a crust of sweet dough enclosing macaroni in a Béchamel sauce , studded with porcini mushrooms and ragù alla bolognese . The traditional Christmas first course is cappelletti , large meat filled ravioli served in chicken broth. It is often followed by salama da sugo , a very big, cured sausage made from a selection of pork meats and spices kneaded with red wine. Seafood
988-427: Is 49, compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Ferrara grew by 2.28%, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85%. The current birth rate of Ferrara is 7.02 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. Ferrara is known as the oldest Italian city with a population over 100,000, as well the city with lowest birth rate. As of 2006 , 95.59% of
1064-652: Is a city and comune (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna , Northern Italy , capital of the province of Ferrara . As of 2016, it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated 44 kilometres (27 miles) northeast of Bologna , on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River , located 5 km (3 miles) north. The town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the Renaissance , when it hosted
1140-564: Is also an important part of the local tradition, that boast rich fisheries in the Po delta lagoons and Adriatic sea. Pasta with clams and grilled or stewed eel dishes are especially well-known. Popular food items include also zia garlic salami and the traditional coppia bread, protected by the IGP ( protected geographical status ) label. Not unusual is the typical kosher salami made of goose meat stuffed in goose neck skin. Local patisserie include spicy pampepato chocolate pie, tenerina ,
1216-501: Is displayed in the National Gallery of Palazzo dei Diamanti . The Renaissance literary men and poets Torquato Tasso (author of Jerusalem Delivered ), Ludovico Ariosto (author of the romantic epic poem Orlando Furioso ) and Matteo Maria Boiardo (author of the grandiose poem of chivalry and romance Orlando Innamorato ) lived and worked at the court of Ferrara during the 15th and 16th century. The Ferrara Bible
1292-522: Is one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture . The duomo has been renovated many times through the centuries, thus its resulting eclectic style is a harmonious combination of the Romanesque central structure and portal, the Gothic upper part of the façade and the Renaissance campanile . The sculptures of the main portal are attributed to Nicholaus [ it ] . The upper part of
1368-546: Is the town's oldest, crossed by a myriad of narrow alleys that date back to the Early Middle Ages . Casa Romei [ it ] is perhaps the best preserved Medieval building in Ferrara. It was the private residence of merchant Giovanni Romei, related by marriage to the Este family, and likely the work of the court architect Pietrobono Brasavola. Thanks to the nuns of the Corpus Domini order, much of
1444-610: The Addizione Erculea , features a number of Renaissance palazzi . Among the finest is Palazzo dei Diamanti ("Diamond Palace"), named after the diamond points into which the façade's stone blocks are cut. The palazzo houses the National Picture Gallery, with a large collection of the school of Ferrara, which first rose to prominence in the latter half of the 15th century, with Cosimo Tura , Francesco Cossa and Ercole dei Roberti . Noted masters of
1520-639: The Battle of Giglio in the Tyrrhenian Sea . His first successful move as military leader was the reconquest of Jesi , in the Marche , which was Frederick's birthplace. In May 1241 he was in command of the forces which defeated the Genoese fleet at Meloria , where he seized a large amount of booty and captured a number of ecclesiastics who were proceeding to a council summoned by Gregory to Rome. Later he
1596-615: The Italian communes is the City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ), which, in towns having between 100,000 and 250,000 population, is composed by 32 councillors elected every five years with a proportional system, contextually to the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee ( Giunta Comunale ), composed by 12 assessors , that is nominated and presided over by a directly elected mayor. The current mayor of Ferrara
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#17327758195151672-781: The Lombard king Desiderius of 753 AD, when he captured the town from the Exarchate of Ravenna . Later the Franks , after routing the Lombards, presented Ferrara to the Papacy in 754 or 756. In 988 Ferrara was ceded by the Church to the House of Canossa , but at the death of Matilda of Tuscany in 1115 it became a free commune . During the 12th century the history of the town was marked by
1748-464: The Middle Ages , and that sometimes reveals the influence of its important Jewish community. The signature dish is cappellacci di zucca , special ravioli with a filling of butternut squash , Parmesan and flavored with nutmeg . It is served with a sauce of butter and sage or bolognese sauce . Another peculiar dish, that was allegedly cooked by Renaissance chef Cristoforo di Messisbugo ,
1824-528: The Mirandola fortress. The besieged garrison made several sorties from the Saint Paul's Gate, which were repulsed by the insurgent peasants. The French attempted two rescues of the beleaguered fortress: the first, on 24 April, when a force of 400 Modenese was repulsed at Mirandola and the second, General Montrichard tried to raise the city-blockade by advancing with a force of 4,000. Finally, at
1900-598: The Papal States . Ferrara, a university city second only to Bologna, remained a part of the Papal States for almost 300 years, an era marked by a steady decline; in 1792 the population of the town was only 27,000, less than in the 17th century. In 1805–1814 it was briefly part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy , a client-state of the French Empire . After the 1815 Congress of Vienna , Ferrara
1976-432: The Renaissance . He vehemently preached against the moral corruption of much of the clergy at the time, and his main opponent was Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia). During the time that Renée of France was Duchess of Ferrara, her court attracted Protestant thinkers such as John Calvin and Olympia Fulvia Morata . The court became hostile to Protestant sympathizers after the marriage of Renée's daughter Anna d'Este to
2052-539: The Valli di Comacchio marshes in 1922 first officially revealed a necropolis with over 4,000 tombs, evidence of a population centre that in Antiquity must have played a major role. There is uncertainty among scholars about the proposed Roman origin of the settlement in its current location ( Tacitus and Boccaccio refer to a "Forum Alieni" ), for little is known of this period, but some archeologic evidence points to
2128-464: The 16th century best known for madrigals is thought to have been born in Ferrara. Ferrara is the birthplace of Italian film directors Michelangelo Antonioni and Florestano Vancini . The latter shot in Ferrara his 1960 film Long Night in 1943 . The town was also the setting of the famous 1970 movie The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Vittorio De Sica , that tells the vicissitudes of
2204-419: The 16th-century School of Ferrara include Lorenzo Costa and Dosso Dossi , the most eminent of all, Girolamo da Carpi and Benvenuto Tisi (il Garofalo) . The district is also home to University of Ferrara Botanic Garden . The town is still almost totally encircled by 9 kilometres (6 miles) of ancient brick walls , mostly built between 1492 and 1520. Today the walls, after a careful restoration, make up
2280-508: The Bentivoglio received the fief of Castel Bolognese . In 1438 Annibale I, a putative son of Anton Galeazzo (his mother, Lina Canigiani, was said to be uncertain of the boy's paternity and the matter was decided by dice) [1] , led a city revolt against the Papacy . He tried to make peace with the Visconti of Milan and to convince the Pope not to place Bologna under papal dominion. In 1442,
2356-641: The Este Castle, adjacent to the Corso Roma, now known as the Corso Martiri della Libertà, was the site of an infamous massacre in 1943. On December 13, 2017, the first day of Hanukkah , Italy's Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah opened on the site of a restored two-story brick prison built in 1912 that counted Jews among its detainees during the Fascist period. This is the initial phase of
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2432-410: The Finzi-Continis , Long Night in 1943 ). In historical fiction, British author Sarah Dunant set her 2009 novel Sacred Hearts in a convent in Ferrara. Ferrara gave birth to Girolamo Savonarola , the famous medieval Dominican priest and leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498. He was known for his book burning , destruction of what he considered immoral art, and hostility to
2508-479: The Middle Ages to the present day. It played an important role when Ferrara enjoyed its greatest splendor in the 15th and 16th century, with the duke Ercole I d'Este . The situation of the Jews deteriorated in 1598, when the Este dynasty moved to Modena and the city came under papal control. The Jewish settlement, located in three streets forming a triangle near the cathedral, became a ghetto in 1627. Apart from
2584-441: The Visconti condottiere Niccolò Piccinino imprisoned Annibale and his supporters at Varano, but Annibale was freed by Galeazzo Marescotti in 1442. When Annibale returned to Bologna, the powers of government were conferred to him, a sign that the city recognized the family's political importance. However, on 24 June 1445, with the support of Pope Eugene IV , Battista Canneschi, succeeded in assassinating his rival Annibale. Annibale
2660-527: The actions by Riario, Pope Sixtus IV condemns Riario and accepts Lorenzo's invitation to a peace conference in Bagnolo. The attack by Riario’s men on Ferrara was filmed at Castle of Oliveto in Castelfiorentino , once the residence of the noble Pucci family of Florence. The Palio of St. George is a medieval-themed horse race held every last Sunday of May. Established in 1279, it is probably
2736-413: The city obtained some actual autonomy and recreated a regime of the feudal type, with a communal senate composed of the landowning nobility, the new rich, and the papal nobility. Bologna also strengthened its relations with Venice , Milan , and Florence. Sante was succeeded by Giovanni II (1443–1508), the son of Annibale I, who ruled as virtual tyrant of Bologna. In 1506, the noble Bentivoglio family
2812-477: The court of the House of Este . For its beauty and cultural importance, it has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . The first documented settlements in the area of the present-day Province of Ferrara date from the 6th century BC. The ruins of the Etruscan town of Spina , established along the lagoons at the ancient mouth of Po river , were lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in
2888-565: The death of his half-brothers Conrad IV in 1254, Frederick of Antioch in 1256 and Manfred in 1266, as well as the execution of his nephew Conradin in 1268, he was one of the last of Hohenstaufen heirs. Enzo shared the father's passion for falconry , and was thus nicknamed Falconello ("little falcon" ). He was the dedicatee of a French translation of a hunting treatise by Yatrib . Like his brother Manfred, he presumably grew fond of poetry at Frederick's court: during his long imprisonment Enzo wrote several poems, two of his canzoni and
2964-582: The emperor to marry Enzo to Ubaldo's widow, Adelasia of Torres (died 1255). Upon the marriage, Enzo by jure uxoris would accede to the Sardinian Giudicati of Logudoro (Torres) and Gallura , covering the northern half of the island of Sardinia . He was created a knight in Cremona and granted the Sardinian royal title, last held by Barisone II of Arborea in 1164/65. Enzo travelled to
3040-752: The end of the 1930s with the set-up of a chemical plant by the Fascist regime that should have supplied the regime with synthetic rubber . During the Second World War Ferrara was repeatedly bombed by Allied warplanes that targeted and destroyed railway links and industrial facilities. After the war, the industrial area in Pontelagoscuro was expanded to become a giant petrochemical compound operated by Montecatini and other companies, that at its peak employed 7,000 workers and produced 20% of plastics in Italy. In recent decades, as part of
3116-565: The end of the German occupation. During the Second World War, 96 of Ferrara's 300 Jews were deported to German concentration and death camps; five survived. The Italian Jewish writer, Giorgio Bassani , was from Ferrara. His celebrated book, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis , was published in Italian as Giardino dei Finzi-Contini, 1962, by Giulio Einaudi editore s.p.a. It was made into a film by Vittorio de Sica in 1970. During WWII,
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3192-570: The end of the communal period in Ferrara and the beginning of the Este rule, which lasted until 1598. In 1452 Borso d'Este was created duke of Modena and Reggio by Emperor Frederick III and in 1471 duke of Ferrara by Pope Paul II . Lionello and, especially, Ercole I were among the most important patrons of the arts in late 15th- and early 16th-century Italy. During this time, Ferrara grew into an international cultural centre, renowned for its architecture, music, literature and visual arts. The architecture of Ferrara greatly benefited from
3268-521: The end of the month, a column led by Pierre-Augustin Hulin reached and relieved the fortress. Klenau took possession of the town on 21 May, and garrisoned it with a light battalion. The Jewish residents of Ferrara paid 30,000 ducats to prevent the pillage of the city by Klenau's forces; this was used to pay the wages of Gardani's troops. Although Klenau held the town, the French still possessed
3344-681: The favourite one. He had a pleasant personality, a strong physical resemblance to his father, and also shared his love for the arts. Enzo fought in the ongoing wars of his father with Pope Gregory IX and the Northern Italian communes of the Lombard League . When Ubaldo Visconti died in 1238, the Doria noble family of Genoa , in order to secure the Sardinian Giudicato of Logudoro from Pisan domination , convinced
3420-526: The fervently Catholic Duke of Guise. The Ferrarese musician Girolamo Frescobaldi was one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. His masterpiece Fiori musicali ( Musical Flowers ) is a collection of liturgical organ music first published in 1635. It became the most famous of Frescobaldi's works and was studied centuries after his death by numerous composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach . Maurizio Moro (15??–16??) an Italian poet of
3496-443: The fortress with a modest mixed force of Austrian cavalry, artillery and infantry augmented by Italian peasant rebels, commanded by Count Antonio Bardaniand and demanded its capitulation. The commander refused. Klenau blockaded the city, leaving a small group of artillery and troops to continue the siege. For the next three days, Klenau patrolled the countryside, capturing the surrounding strategic points of Lagoscuro , Borgoforte and
3572-399: The fourteenth century. Amid the faction-conflicts of the commune, on 14 March 1401, Giovanni I Bentivoglio, with the help of Gian Galeazzo Visconti , declared himself signore and Gonfaloniere di Giustizia . The Visconti however soured on Giovanni, and he was defeated and killed on 26 June 1402 at the Battle of Casalecchio and was interred in the church of San Giacomo Maggiore. During
3648-470: The genius of Biagio Rossetti , who was requested in 1484 by Ercole I to draft a masterplan for the expansion of the town. The resulting " Erculean Addition " is considered one of the most important examples of Renaissance urban planning and contributed to the selection of Ferrara as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . In spite of having entered its golden age, Ferrara was severely hit by a war against Venice fought and lost in 1482–84. Alfonso I succeeded to
3724-457: The hypothesis that Ferrara could have been originated from two small Byzantine settlements: a cluster of facilities around the Cathedral of St. George, on the right bank of the main branch of the Po, which then ran much closer to the city than today, and a castrum , a fortified complex built on the left bank of the river to defend against the Lombards. Ferrara appears first in a document of
3800-570: The island to marry Adelasia in October that year. In July 1239, he was assigned as Imperial vicar general in Lombardy , as well as General-Legate in Romagna , and left Sardinia never to return. Sharing in his father's excommunication in the same year, he took a prominent part in the war which broke out between the emperor and the pope. In 1241, he took part in the capture of a papal fleet at
3876-472: The main façade, with arcades of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century. The recumbent marble lions guarding the portals are copies of the originals, now in the cathedral's museum. An elaborated 13th-century relief depicting the Last Judgement is found in the second storey of the porch. The interior was restored in baroque style in 1712. The marble campanile attributed to Leon Battista Alberti
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#17327758195153952-462: The medical properties of cheese. He also wrote satirical works. The Bentivoglio Family, expelled from Bologna in 1506, established themselves in Ferrara , where they produced some important prelates, such as: The third son of Giovanni II , Alessandro Bentivoglio , who had married Ippolita Sforza , became a counselor of the last duke of Milan and later governor of the town (1525), giving origin to
4028-449: The names of Andrea Mantegna , Vicino da Ferrara , Giovanni Bellini , Leon Battista Alberti , Pisanello , Piero della Francesca , Battista Dossi , Dosso Dossi , Cosmé Tura , Francesco del Cossa and Titian . In the 19th and 20th centuries, Ferrara again hosted and inspired numerous painters who grew fond of its eerie atmosphere. Among them Giovanni Boldini , Filippo de Pisis and Giorgio de Chirico . A large collection of paintings
4104-517: The next few decades, the city's political status -and the family's fortunes- remained unpredictable. The son of Giovanni I, Anton Galeazzo (or Antongaleazzo, c. 1385–1435), was a lecturer in civil law who briefly assumed power in Bologna in 1420, but was quickly overthrown. He became a condottiero , and was assassinated by papal officials on 23 December 1435 due to fears over his growing power (he had returned to Bologna in December). During his reign
4180-463: The oldest such competition in the world. The Ferrara Buskers Festival is a non-competitive parade of street musicians from all over the world. At the 2017 edition, more than 1,000 artists from 35 different nations took part in the festival, including dancers, clowns, equilibrists, jugglers and other original performers. Additionally, the town hosts the yearly Ferrara Balloons Festival , a large hot-air balloon show. The town's football team, SPAL ,
4256-467: The original decorations in the inner rooms have been saved. The house features fresco cycles in the "Sala delle Sibille" ("room of sibyls"), an original terracotta fireplace bearing the coat of arms of Giovanni Romei in the adjoining Saletta dei Profeti ("room of the prophets"), depicting allegories from the Bible, and in other rooms, some of which were commissioned by cardinal Ippolito d'Este , paintings by
4332-482: The population was Italian . The largest immigrant group was other European nations with Ukraine and Albania : 2.59% followed by North Africa: 0.51%, and East Asia : 0.39%. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic , with small Orthodox Christian adherents. The historical Jewish community is still surviving. The Jewish community of Ferrara is the only one in Emilia Romagna with a continuous presence from
4408-517: The regional capital, Bologna , and 87 km (54 mi) south of Venice . The territory of the municipality, entirely part of the Padan plain , is overwhelmingly flat, situated on average just 9 metres (30 ft) above sea-level. The proximity to the largest Italian river has been a constant concern in the history of Ferrara, that has been affected by recurrent, disastrous floods, the latest occurring as recently as 1951. The Idrovia Ferrarese links
4484-530: The river Po from Ferrara to the Adriatic at Porto Garibaldi. The climate of the Po valley is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification , a type of climate commonly referred to as "warm temperate" that features mild winters and hot summers, heavy rains in spring and autumn but there is also a lot of rain even in the driest month of January for Ferrara. The legislative body of
4560-435: The school of Camillo and Cesare Filippi (16th century). Palazzo Schifanoia was built in 1385 for Alberto V d'Este . The palazzo includes frescoes depicting the life of Borso d'Este , the signs of the zodiac and allegorical representations of the months. The vestibule was decorated with stucco mouldings by Domenico di Paris [ it ] . The building also contains fine choir-books with miniatures and
4636-603: The throne in 1505 and married the notorious Lucrezia Borgia . He again fought Venice in the Italian Wars after joining the League of Cambrai . In 1509 he was excommunicated by Pope Julius II , but was able to overcome the Papal and Spanish armies in 1512 at the Battle of Ravenna . These successes were based on Ferrara's artillery, produced in his own foundry which was the best of its time. Upon his death in 1534, Alfonso I
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#17327758195154712-467: The tomb of Anton Galeazzo Bentivoglio by Jacopo della Quercia and the Bentivoglio family's own private chapel, the altar of which has some striking artwork by Lorenzo Costa depicting family victories over other Bolognese dynasties. Enzio of Sardinia Enzo (or Enzio ; c. 1218 – 14 March 1272) was an illegitimate son of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II , who appointed him ' King of Sardinia ' in 1238. He played
4788-610: The town's fortress. After making the standard request for surrender at 08:00, which was refused, Klenau ordered a barrage from his mortars and howitzers. After two magazines caught fire, the commandant was summoned again to surrender; there was some delay, but a flag of truce was sent at 21:00, and the capitulation was concluded at 01:00 the next day. Upon taking possession of the fortress, Klenau found 75 new artillery pieces, plus ammunition and six months worth of provisions. In 1938, Mussolini's fascist government instituted racial laws reintroducing segregation of Jews which lasted until
4864-437: The town. During the last decades of the 1800s and the early 1900s, Ferrara remained a modest trade centre for its large rural hinterland that relied on commercial crops such as sugar beet and industrial hemp . Large land reclamation works were carried out for decades with the aim to expand the available arable land and eradicate malaria from the wetlands along the Po delta. Mass industrialisation came to Ferrara only at
4940-446: The very centre of the town, is iconic of Ferrara. A very large manor house featuring four massive bastions and a moat, it was erected in 1385 by architect Bartolino da Novara with the function to protect the town from external threats and to serve as a fortified residence for the Este family. It was extensively renovated in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Cathedral of Saint George , designed by Wiligelmus and consecrated in 1135,
5016-437: The wrestling for power between two preeminent families, the Guelph Adelardi and the Ghibelline Salinguerra. The powerful Imperial House of Este threw their decisive weight behind the Salinguerra and eventually reaped the benefits of victory for themselves. Thus, in 1264 Obizzo II d'Este was proclaimed lifelong ruler of Ferrara, taking the additional titles of Lord of Modena in 1288 and of Reggio in 1289. His rule marked
5092-495: Was a 1553 publication of the Ladino version of the Tanakh used by Sephardi Jews . It was paid for and made by Yom-Tob ben Levi Athias (the Spanish Marrano Jerónimo de Vargas , as typographer) and Abraham ben Salomon Usque (the Portuguese Jew Duarte Pinhel , as translator), and was dedicated to Ercole II d'Este . In the 20th century, Ferrara was the home and workplace of writer Giorgio Bassani , well known for his novels that were often adapted for cinema ( The Garden of
5168-405: Was brought to ruin by Pope Julius II when he expelled Giovanni II from Bologna. A son of Giovanni II, Annibale II (1469–1540), married Lucrezia d'Este, an illegitimate daughter of Duke Ercole I of Ferrara , in 1487. He served as a condottiero . During a rebellion in 1511 against Julius II, Annibale II with the help of the French took control o Bologna, but he was able to rule for only a year. He
5244-412: Was captured in a skirmish against the Milanese at Gorgonzola , but soon released. In 1245 or 1246 his marriage was annulled. In 1247, he took part in the unsuccessful Siege of Parma and continued to fight the Guelph Lombards, assaulting Reggio and conducting an assault in the surroundings of Parma. During a campaign to support the Ghibelline cities of Modena and Cremona against Guelph in Bologna, he
5320-426: Was defeated and captured on 26 May 1249 at the Battle of Fossalta . Though the emperor demanded his release, Enzo was thenceforth kept a knightly prisoner in Bologna, in a palace that came to be named Palazzo Re Enzo after him. Every attempt to escape or to rescue him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. After a magnificent funeral he was buried in the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna. After
5396-433: Was established in 1907. In 2017 it was promoted to Serie A , Italy's top-level football league, after a 49-year absence. Its home ground is Paolo Mazza Memorial Stadium , with a capacity of 16,134. Ferrara's basketball team Kleb Basket Ferrara competes in the Serie A2 Basket and plays its home games at the Palasport di Ferrara . The culinary tradition of Ferrara features many typical dishes that can be traced back to
5472-593: Was given back to the Pope, now guaranteed by the Empire of Austria . A bastion fort was erected in the 1600s by Pope Paul V on the site the Castel Tedaldo , an old castle at the south-west angle of the town, this was occupied by an Austrian garrison from 1832 until 1859. The fortress was completely dismantled following the birth of the Kingdom of Italy and the bricks were used for new constructions throughout
5548-578: Was hated by other rival families, such as the Ghislieri and the Canetoli, and was subsequently assassinated. Annibale II was the last ruler of his line. In exile, the Bentivoglio family established themselves in Ferrara and produced several notable prelates. Ercole Bentivoglio, the putative father of Sante I who lived in exile in Florence and Ferrara, wrote a long poem on dietetic , greatly extolling
5624-501: Was initiated in 1412 but is still incomplete, missing one projected additional storey and a dome, as it can be observed from numerous historical prints and paintings on the subject. Near the cathedral and the castle also lies the 15th-century city hall, that served as an earlier residence of the Este family, featuring a grandiose marble flight of stairs and two ancient bronze statues of Niccolò III and Borso of Este. The southern district
5700-414: Was succeeded by Sante I (1426–1463). Sante was also of dubious paternity and origin, but alleged to be a son of Ercole Bentivoglio, a cousin of Annibale I. Originally an apprentice of the wool guild of Florence , Sante ruled as signore of Bologna from 1442. Sponsored by Cosimo de' Medici , Sante Bentivoglio ushered in a brief period of political tranquility. Always technically under papal sovereignty,
5776-536: Was succeeded by his son Ercole II , whose marriage in 1528 to the second daughter of Louis XII , Renée of France , brought great prestige to the court of Ferrara. Under his reign, the Duchy remained an affluent country and a cultural powerhouse. However, an earthquake struck the town in 1570, causing the economy to collapse, and when Ercole II's son Alfonso II died without heirs in 1597, the House of Este lost Ferrara to
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