The walls of Ferrara

October 25, 2020

I don’t know that Rachael and I would ever have taken an in-depth tour through the uniformly flat Po Delta region if it weren’t from being led here by the travel constraints of the pandemic. At the most, I’ve imagined a fast dip south to Ravenna to see the mosaics before bending back north toward the Dolomites again. Now that we’re here though, we’re finding one stunning surprise after another: our stays in Pesaro, Ravenna, Rimini, Comacchio have all been revelations. Ferrara is yet another magical place, and might be the best stop of them all.

The entire historical city was honored by a UNESCO designation as a City of the Renaissance:

Ferrara, which grew up around a ford over the River Po, became an intellectual and artistic centre that attracted the greatest minds of the Italian Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. Here, Piero della Francesca, Jacopo Bellini and Andrea Mantegna decorated the palaces of the House of Este. The humanist concept of the 'ideal city' came to life here in the neighbourhoods built from 1492 onwards by Biagio Rossetti according to the new principles of perspective. The completion of this project marked the birth of modern town planning and influenced its subsequent development.

Obviously, there will be a lot to see here. First though, let’s look just at the city walls. Remarkably, the complete historical core is still girded by its nearly unbroken fortified walls. Nine kilometers long, with walking and cycling paths following them for nearly the entire length, they’re an exceptional resource to the citizens and guests of the city.

It’s still grey and foggy today, and after yesterday’s long ride we’re happy to have a day off the saddle anyway. Walking the walls sounds like a perfect use of the day. Rachael completed the whole circuit, but I only walked the eastern half and then cut through the heart of the city to see some other attractions I didn’t want to miss.

I’d love to see the other half though, or to repeat the experience in different conditions - when the sun is out, assuming that actually happens here; or in the winter, when the leaves have dropped from the trees and exposed their skeletons; or in the spring or summer, when the many varieties of flowers identified on information panels are in bloom.

There are several choices for walking or cycling along the walls. You can walk along the top, and admire view like this.

Or you can look up at the walls from below. You have to think a bit about which experience you want though, because there are few places where you can cross through. Once down, for you’re probably committed for the next mile or more.

Or, in places you can drop down from the berm and walk along the walls on their inside face.

The Prospettiva di Corso Giovecca, the eastern gate to the city. On the north and east in particular, the walls are nearly unbroken and have very few vehicular entrances. It’s remarkable that the city has managed to preserve them, rather than razing them to allow easier access.

This arched section is more modern, built in 1870’s when the massive Baluardo di San Rocco was demolished.

One of the many attractive features of the walls is the variety of trees. Mile-long colonnades gracefully line the pathways, or striking trees stand isolated along the walls.

A photo from the west side of the walls, from Rachael. It looks like I should have walked that half as well.

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Jacquie GaudetStuck at home during my early retirement, I'm pleased to hear that there are flat areas worth visiting that I can save for later!
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3 years ago

Jen RahnSo many fabulous trees!

And I love the limited entries for motor vehicles.

I've seen a couple of headlines about increasing restrictions in Italy. Sounds like it's regional-only at this point?
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnAt least some of the restrictions are countrywide. Masks are mandatory pretty much everywhere outdoors, except when you’re well away from anyone. In the cities everyone wears them, including bicyclists. The situation is changing rapidly everywhere. Not that it looks any better back home - at least here everyone is behaving responsibly.

The area where we are now is one of the better ones in Italy now, and the south where we plan on going next is better still; and Greece is better yet - it’s really the only part of Southern Europe that is still classified green.

It’s hard to say at this point how it will affect our plans, but it’s likely to at some point. Croatia has gotten very much worse just in the last two weeks. I won’t be surprised if Italy cuts them off soon - we barely slipped in through a door that I imagine is closing fast. And with Italy on the red list now, we can’t enter Greece without a fresh Covid test.
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3 years ago