Omri on bicycle next to the Ferrara cathedralToday we went to Ferrara, a city of 132,000 people about 50 km northeast of Bologna. It's getting a bit redudant for us to describe Italian places as "beautiful" since nearly all of them are. But Ferrara is very special. Because it was a bit off the beaten track (the Via Aemilia, the Roman road that runs through most cities and towns) its historic centre has survived just a little bit more original than in other cities.
They call it "the city of bicycles" and everywhere you go there are tons. Larry and Omri rented them. (At this point, we have to stop for a disclaimer from Judy: She wants blogwatchers to know that she completely dissociates herself from this foolhardy activity, without helmets yet!) If you ask for helmets for bicycles, they look at you funny. That means that drivers of motor-scooters (for which helmets are compusory) are safer than cyclists.
Larry and Omri in front of the moat surrounding the Castello EstenseFerrara has one of the only remaining castles with full moats left in Europe. It was the seat of the ruling Este family.
This is the storage tank of an aqueduct. It was built in 1932 and shows strong hints of fascist monumentalism. It seems to imitate the work of artist Giorgio de Chirico (see below), a painter who used Ferrara as a backdrop to many of his bleak paintings in the teens and twenties.
1 comment:
Nancy and I stayed 6 nights in Ferra. It was our base camp from which we visited much of Emilia-Romagnia. It is in the Poe Valley hence the place tends to be very flat. Noteworthy is that the Este Family invited Jewish merchants to estanilh themselves in the Town about 13 or 14 C. There remain today a small Jewish Synagogue that is still maintained. Since WWII there are few Jews who live in Ferra today.
From Ferra you can drive to a number of great tourist sights including Verona, Revena,Parma, and Venice.
Eamon
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