Ferrara, Italy Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

Thirty minutes' train ride north of Bologna, FERRARA was the residence of the Este dukes, an eccentric dynasty that ranked as a major political force throughout Renaissance times. The Este kept the main artists of the day in commissions and built a town which, despite a relatively small population, was – and still is – one of the most elegant urban creations of the period. When there was no heir, the Este were forced to hand over Ferrara to the papacy and leave for good. Life in Ferrara effectively collapsed: eighteenth-century travellers found a ghost town of empty streets and clogged-up canals … more »