The province of Ferrara was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO between 1995 and 1999. This accolade has further highlighted its rich historical, traditional, and cultural heritage, filled with captivating sites.
The historic center of Ferrara was listed by UNESCO in 1995 as a "superb example of a Renaissance city that has retained its historic center intact, expressing urban planning principles that had a profound influence on the development of town planning in subsequent centuries." Four years later, this recognition was extended to the Po Delta, "an exceptional planned cultural landscape that has retained its original form remarkably well", and the Delizie, as "the residences of the Dukes of Este in the Po Delta exceptionally illustrate the impact of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape."
The Este Residences, also known as the Delizie, numbered over 50 across the city and rural areas of Ferrara. They formed a network of decentralized government sites with a strategic role in land reclamation but also served as places for relaxation and hunting in the vast Ferrara countryside. Today, many of the "Delights" have been destroyed, others are no longer accessible, but those that remain intact continue to amaze visitors with their magnificence, whether isolated in the countryside or within urban centers.
Let's explore some of them!
On the left bank of the Po di Volano, near the town of Copparo, stands the impressive Villa della Mensa. Built by Bartolomeo della Rovere, Bishop of Ferrara from 1474 to 1495 and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, the villa, though altered in the 17th and 18th centuries, still retains many of its 15th-century features.
Although never owned by the Estes, the villa is linked to the Este house through the illustrious figures who frequented and used it as a residence, especially the bishops of the dynasty.
Recently renovated, the villa is open to the public and accessible by water via the newly created dock on the Po di Volano. It remains the only residence still accessible by river as in the past.
Heading south to Voghiera, we find the beautiful Delizia del Belriguardo. Established by Niccolò d'Este in 1435, it was the first of the famous Este residences to be built outside the walls of Ferrara and remained the richest and most sumptuous.
It was even referred to as the "Estensi's Versailles", a term that is sometimes still used today, although Belriguardo was famed at least three centuries before the famous French royal residence.
The castle was arranged around two courtyards. Beyond the majestic entrance tower and the first large courtyard was the so-called high court, the prince's residence, entirely built on two floors with loggias and arcades everywhere; the walls were plastered and painted with the Este arms, and vast gardens opened at the back, meticulously designed with geometric rhythms, featuring streams, fountains, small bridges, exotic plants, and hedge mazes to make the stay as pleasant as possible for guests and the Este Court.
Today, one wing of the palace houses the Belriguardo Civic Museum, which contains artifacts from the Necropolis of Voghenza.
A few kilometers away, in the municipality of Portomaggiore, we find the Este Delizia Estense del Verginese. Originally a country farmhouse, the Verginese was transformed into a ducal residence in the early 16th century by Alfonso I d'Este and given to Laura Eustochia Dianti.
After the Duke's death, the lady retired here, making it her private small court, and ordered its renovation, mainly carried out by Girolamo da Carpi. He designed the castle as a two-story rectangular building, bordered by four square battlemented towers. The interiors were decorated from the 18th century onwards with stuccos, rosettes, and thick frames outlining the ceilings.
The rooms of the Verginese today host the permanent exhibition "Mors Inmatura. The Fadieni Family Tomb", documenting the discovery of a small Roman necropolis a few steps from the "Delight".
The itinerary finally concludes on the Po Delta, which was designated a UNESCO Man & Biosphere Reserve in 2015. This recognition is associated, for the Ferrara region, with the designation as a "World Heritage Site" obtained in 1999 as an "outstanding planned cultural landscape that remarkably retains its original form."
This Biosphere Reserve spans 15 municipalities, 6 of which are in Emilia-Romagna. Among them, we choose Argenta to explore the splendid area of its marshes, which form the sixth station of the Po Delta Regional Park and are among the largest freshwater wetlands in Northern Italy. Covering an area of about 1,600 hectares, this territory hosts an extraordinary natural heritage and a great variety of plant and animal species, as well as offering various cycling and walking paths and ample opportunities for birdwatching.
Here you can find the Argenta Ecomuseum, which also includes the Museum of Land Reclamation, a splendid museum of industrial archaeology located in the namesake pumping station and set within a context of Art Nouveau buildings, and the Civic Museum, which includes an archaeological section and the Civic Picture Gallery, housing works by Scarsellino, Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo, and Francesco Longhi.
