Our second excursion from Bologna took us to this highly underrated destination, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the birthplaces of Italian Renaissance. After 40 minutes on the regional express train, traveling northeast in the general direction of Padova and Venice on a day of brilliant blue skies, we arrived at the elegant provincial capital of Ferrara.
This refined city, once a cultural and artistic powerhouse during Renaissance, may just be the most unknown destination on our 3 week journey. While it's true that most Canadians aren't very knowledgeable in foreign geography, it disappointed me that none of my friends had actually heard of Ferrara. "Ferrari?" they asked. Close, but Ferrari hails from nearby Modena while Ferrara has little to do with supercars.
Confusion of names aside I cannot understand why this historic city, conveniently situated on the Florence-Bologna-Venice rail line and thus easily accessible to most visitors, gets barely any international attention. Domestically it is somewhat well-known and we did run into Italian-speaking tour groups in front of the Duomo, though it is almost impossible to imagine Ferrara ever being overrun by tourists given its relative anonymity and composed ambiance.
The few travelers arriving would naturally gravitate towards Ferrara's most impressive landmark, the magnificent medieval fortress of Castello Estense, dressed in red bricks from bottom to top and defended by an evocative green moat complete with still-functional drawbridges. From its claustrophobic dungeons to the stately banquet rooms to the handsome roof terraces, this was by far our favorite attraction in town.
For more than 600 years the castle has survived numerous calamities from innocent fires to WWII bombings to the devastating double earthquakes in 2012. During our visit many of the ceiling frescoes were still under a major restoration project for damages from the 5.8 magnitude quakes, an endeavour that will likely take years to complete.
From the castle, more precisely along the adjacent Via Cavour, the city divides into a medieval quarter of narrow cobblestone alleyways to the north and arguably Italy's best-preserved Renaissance cityscape to the south with splendid 15th Century Palazzi, wide boulevards and spacious open squares. This immaculate early example of modern urban planning has remained fairly unmodified for the past 500 years, complete with massive defensive walls still encircling this former medieval city state.
At the heart of the Renaissance quarter was Piazza del Municipio and the magnificent facade of its imposing former cathedral, half Romanesque and half Gothic, with market stalls curiously protruding from the side as a vestige of medieval pragmatism. Seven centuries later the marketplace still comes to life in the morning with offerings of locally grown Fiori di Zucca and Pomodorini along with cheap blankets and t-shirts from China or Eastern Europe.
The Duomo's ceiling apparently suffered substantial damage from the 2012 earthquakes and remained half-veiled by scaffolding at the time of our visit. Nevertheless the cool and dark interior still offered us much needed respite from the sweltering 33 degrees heatwave outside.
From the Duomo we headed south towards the incredibly photogenic Via delle Volte, a 13th Century alley of endless medieval stone arches widely advertised as the most romantic street in Ferrara. My word of advice for guys is to make sure your wife or girlfriend isn't wearing heels, as a twisted ankle from negotiating this archaic paving of pebbles and cobblestones could really foil the romance.
Curious travelers can follow the east-west course of Via delle Volte and escape from the main tourist circuit of the Castello and Duomo, finishing at the eastern quarter of the walled city where a fascinating but lesser-known Palazzo, also built by the d'Este dynasty of rulers, still stands. Palazzo Schifanoia's claim to fame is its fanciful 15th Century frescoes on the second floor featuring the pagan themes of Olympian gods, zodiacs and exotic beasts, inappropriate perhaps for an official residence but apt for a holiday mansion at the periphery of the Renaissance city.
Visitors were so few at Palazzo Schifanoia, and staff members were so enthusiastic to see foreign tourists that one of them took the effort to usher us down the street towards the free-entrance Museo Lapidario. The near absence of tourist traffic also made this the perfect neighborhood for exploring the street corner Trattorie, catering not to foreigners but mainly to university students and local workers on their lengthy lunch breaks.
I LAUREATI
Via Carlo Mayr 187; 6 minutes walk southwest of Palazzo Schifanoia.
This is an authentic Ferrarese establishment for the Ferrarese, a neighborhood Trattoria located far, far away from most tourist itineraries at the southeast corner of the Renaissance city. While the 20 minute detour from the Castello serves to keep non-locals away, it's only a short walk if you're already planning on visiting Palazzo Schifanoia.
The popularity of I Laureati (i.e. The Graduates) among students from the nearby University of Ferrara should become apparent once you see their incredible lunchtime Fixed Menu -- in fact one of the best lunch deals we came across anywhere in Italy. We're talking 12 euros for Primo, Secondo and Contorno, plus 1/4 litre of house wine. And plus, the Coperto was already included in the price. You simply can't possibly ask for anything cheaper without bankrupting the owner.
That said, at just 12 euros for a multi-course meal with wine one shouldn't expect any groundbreaking gastronomic highlights. Our Primo of Gramigna Panna e Salsiccia, Secondo of Braciole alla Griglia and Contorno of Verdure Grigliate were all authentic family favorites but nothing spectacular. It was when we ordered the a la carte regional specialties, still at very reasonable prices, that the skill of the chef was really allowed to shine.
This was simply the best dish of filled pasta of our Italy trip.
Ferrara's contribution to Italy's dinner table rarely sparks any discussion especially in the shadow of Emilia-Romagna's long list of culinary heavyweights -- Parma for Prosciutto Crudo, Bologna for Ragu Bolognese or Modena for Aceto Balsamico, just to name a few. But there is one illustrious dish passed down from the medieval kitchen of the d'Este court that nobody should miss, the famous Cappellacci di Zucca.
The magic here was a sweet velvety filling of the local variety of Zucca Marina, wrapped in al dente egg pasta and sauteed in the traditional sauce of butter and aromatic sage. The grated Ricotta Salata and crunchy poppy seed added yet another delicious dimension to the mouthfeel, and while the price of this one dish wasn't much cheaper than the 3-course Fixed Menu, it was certainly worth every cent.
We finished with another local invention known as Torta Tenerina, resembling somewhat of a flat chocolate brownie on first glance but came out unexpectedly soft and creamy beneath the slightly crusty exterior. Our final bill came to a ridiculous 25 euros considering our feast of two Primi, one Secondo, one Contorno, one Dolce and 1/4 litre of house red. I really don't recall any other sit-down restaurant being this cheap anywhere else in Italy, with the exception of another Trattoria we would soon come across in San Marino ... which technically isn't Italy anyway.
Bill for Two Persons
| Menu Fisso | 12 Euros |
| Cappellacci di Zucca | 10 Euros |
| Torta Tenerina | 3 Euros |
| Coperto x 1 | 1 Euros |
| Discount | -1 Euros |
| TOTAL | 25 Euros (CAD$35.0) |
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