20 Attractions to Explore Near Cathedral of Ferrara

The Estense Castle, or castle of San Michele, is the most representative monument of the city of Ferrara. It was built in 1385 as a fortress for political and military control and for the defense of the Este family, therefore also thought of as a repressive tool. The first stone was symbolically laid on 29 September, the day of St. Michael, the warrior archangel at the head of the celestial militias as well as the traditional fixed date for removals.

The Palazzo dei Diamanti is one of the most famous monuments of Ferrara and of the Italian Renaissance, located in Corso Ercole I d'Este 21, in the Quadrivio degli Angeli , right in the center of the Addizione Erculea. It was one of the most stunning palaces of Italian Renaissance architecture, is a must-see when you visit this small town rich in history and art about half an hour from Emilia-Romagna’s capital, Bologna.

The museum of Palazzo Schifanoia is housed in an Estense Delight in via Scandiana 23, in Ferrara. The palace was built in 1385 and the name was chosen was intended to underline its function at the Este court, that is, a building intended for rest and recreation. The palace was built for Alberto V d'Este in 1385. Borso d'Este transformed it and had it enlarged. Built on a quadrangular base, without the side wings, it was designed as a small place to rest and relax.

The Lamborghini Museum, also called MUDETEC, is a museum based in Sant'Agata Bolognese in Italy. The museum, owned and managed by the Lamborghini company, is made up of a vast collection of cars produced throughout the history of the Italian manufacturer. The museum exhibits a family tree showing all the models produced by the company. The current exhibition gallery contains iconic sports cars such as the 350 GT and the Sesto Element and concepts such as the Veneno and Miura Concept.

The Montagnola garden is one of the oldest and most central green areas in the city of Bologna, which opened for the first time in the 17th century. In the garden of the Montagnola the bodies of Luigi Zamboni and Giovanni Battista De Rolandis were solemnly buried on the direct order of Napoleon, who in 1794 led an attempted revolt to Bologna during which Italian tricolor cockades were used; in 1799, with the arrival of the Austrians, the bodies were dispersed.

The National Picture Gallery of Bologna is an Italian state museum. It is based in Bologna in the former Jesuit novitiate, a historic building that also houses the Academy of Fine Arts. The picture gallery offers a vast overview of Emilian painting from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century; however, there is no lack of fundamental evidence of non-Bolognese artists who had contact with the city. It is owned by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.

The Museum of Modern Art of Bologna is one of the main Italian museums of modern and contemporary art. It is the seat of the Bologna Musei Institution, oriented towards contemporary artistic research. It houses both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. Inside there is a library, a bookshop, and a bar/restaurant.

Via dell'Indipendenza, commonly called Via Indipendenza, is a street in the historic center of Bologna that leads from Piazza Maggiore to Bologna Centrale station, marking the border between the districts of Porto-Saragozza and Santo Stefano in the city of Bologna. Today, Via Indipendenza is considered the main shopping area of ​​the Emilian-Romagna capital, also crossing the Cathedral of San Pietro, the Arena del Sole, and Piazza VIII Agosto.

The Torre del Prendiparte is one of the approximately 20 noble towers still existing in the historic center of the city of Bologna. Erected in the second half of the 12th century, it is 59.50 meters high and is characterized by a slight slope towards the north. The tower was part of the so-called triad of medieval skyscrapers together with those of the Galluzzi and the Azzoguidi.

The Two Towers, both of them leaning, are the symbol of Bologna, Italy, and the most prominent of the Towers of Bologna. They are located at the intersection of the roads that lead to the five gates of the old ring wall. The taller one is called the Asinelli while the smaller but more leaning tower is called the Garisenda. It was one of the iconic attractions in this area and it attracts a lot of tourists.

The Re Enzo Palace is a historic building in Bologna dating from the thirteenth century. It was built between 1244 and 1246 at the behest of the podestà Filippo Ugoni as an extension of the municipal buildings of the Palazzo del Podestà and for this reason, called Palatium Novum, but its historical events have made it always linked to the figure of King Enzo of Sardinia.

The Palazzo del Podestà in Bologna overlooks Piazza Maggiore, in the heart of the city, together with the Palazzo Comunale and the Basilica of San Petronio. It was built around 1200, together with Piazza Maggiore as a building to carry out public functions and therefore the seat of the podestà and his officials. The current layout is very different from the original one also because the Palazzo Re Enzo was built later, between 1244 and 1246.

The Pomposa Abbey located in the municipality of Codigoro in the province of Ferrara is an abbey dating back to the IX century and one of the most important in all of Northern Italy . Since December 2014, the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has managed it through the Emilia-Romagna Museum Complex , which in December 2019 became the Regional Directorate for Museums.

The Salaborsa Library was inaugurated in 2001 inside Palazzo d'Accursio, the historic seat of the Municipality of Bologna. It overlooks Piazza Nettuno and via Ugo Bassi. Visitors to the library are able to see an archaeological site through the crystal floor in the center of the library. The ancient ruins are also accessible from the basement floor, where there is information about them.

The fountain of Neptune, nicknamed al Żigànt in dialect by the Bolognese because of the size of the statue of Neptune, is located in Bologna in Piazza del Nettuno. The over-life-size bronze figure of the god Neptune was completed and fixed in place around 1567. The statue was an early design by Giambologna, who had submitted a model for the Fountain of Neptune in Florence but had lost the commission to Baccio Bandinelli.

Santo Stefano is the most unique complex in Bologna, as it is a true city sanctuary and the cradle of our ancestor’s faith. This extraordinary religious site consists of four medieval churches, originally there were seven churches, and therefore it is known by the name of Sette Chiese. Besides churches, this peaceful complex contains of cloisters, tombs, and courtyards, a great place to browse religious art and artifacts too.

Piazza Maggiore is the main square of Bologna, measuring 115 meters in length and 60 meters in width, and surrounded by the most important buildings of the medieval city. The oldest building facing the square is the Palazzo del Podestà, which closes the square to the north; it dates back to the 13th century and is surmounted by the Torre dell'Arengo, which by ringing its bell called the people to gather. The Palazzo Re Enzo was soon added to this, under which the cross vault of a pedestrian cro

Piazza Santo Stefano is one of the most characteristic sights of Bologna. Actually it is more than a square, a widening that originates from via Santo Stefano and leads to the Two Towers. The monumental complex dominating the square is the Basilica of Santo Stefano, commonly known as “seven churches“. It is articulated on seven sacred buildings constructed and reworked in different eras, mainly by the work of the patron saint of Bologna, San Petronio.

The Palazzo d'Accursio , also called Town Hall [1] (in Bolognese dialect PALAZ without the article) is a building that overlooks the Piazza Maggiore and is currently home to the City Hall of Bologna. Today's palace is a collection of buildings that have been united over the centuries. The original nucleus, purchased by the Municipality at the end of the 13th century, included the home of Accursio , a jurist and teacher of law in the Bologna studio.

The Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna is housed in the fifteenth-century Palazzo Galvani, in Via dell'Archiginnasio 2, 40124 Bologna, the ancient "Hospital of Death". Inaugurated in September 1881, it was born from the merger of two museums: the University - heir to the "Room of Antiquities" of the Academy of Sciences founded by Luigi Ferdinando Marsili - and the Comunale