The Route of the Estensi Courts

Ferrara is considered the first modern city in Europe thanks to the dukes of Este, who managed to make the small capital on the banks of the Po one of the most enlightened, splendid, and cultured courts in Europe. The medieval city is recognizable by its narrow streets, accessible only on foot or by bicycle, and the houses and small palaces that take on a typical red hue at sunset, unmistakably of Ferrara. Then, there is the Renaissance city where the Herculean addition is the most tangible representation of the splendor of Ferrara, the capital of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Let's not forget the Walls that surround it, almost entirely walkable or, to feel a truly Ferrara citizen, by bicycle. But the Este family didn't just make the city great; the Delights, residences dedicated to hunting, entertainment, and lavish banquets, are present throughout the Province and can be visited on a pleasant thematic route: the Delizia del Belriguardo, the first built outside the city walls by Marquess Nicolò III d'Este in 1435, reached its greatest splendor during the rule of Borso d'Este, who, it is said, ordered as many rooms as there are days in the year!

The Verginese, given by Duke Alfonso I to his lover Laura Dianti; the Delizia di Benvignante, and the last in chronological order, the Castello della Mesola, which Duke Alfonso II had built for the convenience of his hunts near the Gran Bosco della Mesola, long owned by the Este family. We then return to Ferrara, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage City for a few years now, to visit Palazzo Schifanoia, the first of all the Delights commissioned by the Este to escape boredom.

Here, one cannot miss visiting the famous Hall of the Months, frescoed in the mid-1400s by Cosmè Tura, Ercole de Roberti, and Francesco del Cossa: the masters of the Ferrarese Workshop. Este hospitality is renewed in the accommodation facilities adhering to the Strada dei Vini e dei Sapori della Provincia di Ferrara, which are present on The Route of Estensi Courts, always available to make your stay more pleasant and comfortable.