THE GLORY DAYS OF OLD STATELY HOMES
From palace to palace
The position of Piacenza is one of the most strategic ones in Emilia-Romagna: it is situated on the right-hand bank of the Po where the Trebbia fl ows into the Great River, and all the roads of the Po valley cross here. This position accounts for the long and lively history of the town, which left a rich legacy of splendid aristocratic palaces. The best example is the pink marble and terracotta Palazzo Comunale in Piazza Cavalli, also called the "Gotico"; it was built by the local Consul of Trade in 1281. Next door is the Palazzo dei Mercanti, built by the merchants' guild in 1676. Across the square you will fi nd the Palazzo del Governatore (1787). The imposing Palazzo Malvicini Fontana da Nibbiano in Via Verdi was home to a local family of powerful nobles. In Via Giordani there is the 18th-century Palazzo Anguissola Rocca, while the highlight of Via San Siro is the Palazzo Scotti da Sarmato, with its monumental gate, porticoes, marble staircase and fi nely decorated rooms: among its guests were Napoleon and Pope Pius VI. In Via San Siro you will also fi nd the Palazzo Arcelli and the Palazzo Radini-Tedeschi, which has the town's most impressive grand staircase. Parallel to Via San Siro runs Via Scalabrini, with a dozen 17th- and 18th-century buildings ranging from the Palazzo Rossi Trevani and the Palazzo Appiani d'Aragona Borromeo to the Episcopal Seminary.
Piazza Camillo Prampolini and its palaces
The history of a town can be "read" from the buildings that house its public authorities. In Reggio Emilia, such palaces are concentrated in Piazza Prampolini, whose south side is taken up by the Palazzo del Comune (town hall), built in the 15th century with several later restructurings, which now features an 18th-century facade. Inside there is the Sala del Tricolore where, on 7 January 1797, the red, white and green tricolour was adopted as the offi cial fl ag of the Cispadane Republic. In the square you will also fi nd the statue of the Crostolo, transferred here from Villa Ducale in Rivalta. The east side is taken up by the Cathedral, whose Romanesque features were mostly remodelled during the Renaissance, and the 16th-century Bishop's Palace (Palazzo Vescovile), which incorporated a Romanesque baptistery and the Palazzo dei Canonici. Facing the Bishop's Palace, the Palazzo delle Notarie was home to the notaries' guild up to the mid-15th century; the notaries used to set up their public stalls under its portico. On the north side of the square there is the Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, Reggio's original town hall, with its lofty medieval clock tower. The town's other main hub, Piazza Cesare Battisti, also has imposing palaces, such as the Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo, dating back to 1280, and the Albergo Posta next door, named after the inn that in 1913 replaced a 16th-century charitable institution, the Ospizio del Cappello Rosso. The last sight in Piazza Battisti is the Palazzo Bussetti (1657), perhaps designed by Bernini and formerly a Jesuit seminary and the seat of the local University.
The palaces of the Este Duchy
Modena still has several reminders of its days of glory when it was the fabulous capital of the Este Duchy. To be taken back to those days all you have to do is stroll along the cobbled streets and alleyways of its town centre, among the baroque churches and aristocratic palaces between Via dei Servi, Rua Muro and Corso Canalchiaro. The starting point of this itinerary is the splendid Palazzo Ducale, in Piazza Roma, one of Italy's fi nest baroque buildings. This masterpiece of 17th-century art, richly decorated with turrets, cornices and statues of mythical gods, was designed by Bartolomeo Avanzini. See the inner grand courtyard with its scenic double loggia. Inside, the fi nest rooms are the prince's apartments, the throne hall (Sala del Trono), the grand hall (Salone d'Onore) and the golden room (Salottino d'Oro), where it is thought that Francesco IV D'Este signed the death sentence of the insurrectionist patriot Ciro Menotti. In 1862, the Palazzo Ducale became a Military Academy (visit the Museum inside to learn more about its history), where young army offi cers-to-be are trained; this accounts for the boys and girls going around town in their shiny and slightly old-fashioned uniforms. Some of the fi nest baroque churches of Modena date back to the same period as the Ducal Palace: they are Sant'Agostino, San Bartolomeo and San Domenico, whose rather nondescript facade hides a treasure of stucco statues, reliefs and busts of the Este dukes.
Music for strings and palaces
Bologna is one of the greatest cities of music in Italy. In 2004, the Palazzo Aldini Sanguinetti in Strada Maggiore 34, surrounded by a trompe-l'oeil garden, became home to the Museo della Musica. This museum hosts concerts and lute-making workshops and contains paintings, scores and opera props tracing back the last 500 years of the history of music, besides one of the world's first libraries entirely devoted to music, with some 110,000 books. The itinerary of "Musical Bologna" is concentrated in the old town centre. It starts from the Basilica di San Petronio, which boasts Italy's oldest church organ still in use and a beautiful music chapel. The second stop is the Torre dell'Arengo, the bell-tower of the town hall, which holds the town's heaviest bell (4700 kg, or 740 stone). In Piazza Rossini there is the Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini (1804) where the young Gioacchino Rossini took music lessons, while Via Zamboni 15 is the address of an elegant concert house, the Oratorio di Santa Cecilia. Close by, in Via Zamboni 30, is the local opera house: the Teatro Comunale, which once had Giuseppe Verdi as a guest director. The Accademia Filarmonica in Via Guerrazzi 13, est. 1666, used to issue a prestigious certificate of excellence: even the young Mozart, at the age of 14, came here to take the exam. Other curiosities are Donizetti's home in Via Pepoli 1 and the home of Farinelli, the most famous castrato ever, in Via Santa Margherita 6.
Historical buildings in Ferrara
Stately homes abound in the well-preserved old town centre of Ferrara. Take the alleyway to the left of the cathedral, Via Adelardi. During the evening this is a busy spot crowded with pubs and wine cellars. Al Brindisi at no. 11 has an entry on the Guinness book of Records: it is the oldest osteria (inn) in the world, founded in 1435 as Hostaria del Chiucchiolino. In its illustrious past it catered for personalities such as poets Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, sculptor and writer Benvenuto Cellini, painter Tiziano Vecellio and astronomer Copernicus. Other beauties can be found in Via Voltapaletto and Via Savonarola, formerly called Via di San Francesco: the church of San Francesco, the Palazzo Pareschi and Casa Romei (Via Savonarola 10) with a magnificent inner courtyard. If the name Cesare Borgia rings a bell (he inspired Machiavelli's The Prince), then you might also know his sister Lucrezia, one of the most fascinating personalities of the Italian Renaissance, a woman whose controversial reputation includes both being suspected of murder and, conversely, rumours of sanctity. Lucrezia was buried in the convent of Corpus Domini in Via del Pergolato, close to two other mystical places – the oratory of the Annunziata and the church of Santa Maria del Vado. Then there are the Palazzo Schifanoia, with its fine frescoes by the Ferraresi workshop, the Palazzo Bonacossi (which now houses the Musei di Arte Antica) and the Palazzina Marfisa, of which the latter two were originally connected by a series of loggias and gardens.
A tour of the delizie of the Este in and around Ferrara
The delizie (palaces of joy) were the residences where the Este and their court indulged in their favoured activities: banquets, balls and all sorts of entertainments, accompanied by the magnifi cence of a great Renaissance court, embellished by frescoes painted by the best artists of the time, and surrounded by sculpted gardens full of rare and exotic beasts. The most renowned delizia is probably the Palazzo Schifanoia, built by the Este in 1385 in what was then open countryside, although within the city walls. The fi rst delizia to be built outside the city walls was the huge castle of Belriguardo (1435), a palace built by Borso d’Este which contained a room for each day of the year and much envied by his peers. A few miles away, near Gambulaga, four turrets mark the Delizia del Verginese. The Delizia di Fossadalbero, along the Po, was the love nest for the unfortunate love affair between Ugo and Parisina, respectively the son and second wife of marquis Nicolò III. Hamlets were built around some of the delizie, such as the castle of Mesola (1500) still surrounded by a circle of low porticoed buildings.
The Roman domus in Ravenna
When one talks about Ravenna, the first thing that comes to mind is its status as the capital of the Western Empire, but in fact the origins of the town are much older than that. This itinerary is an opportunity to discover the Roman Ravenna, starting from the Domus del Triclinio inside the church of San Nicolò. It is the reconstruction of an aristocratic Roman dining room with original tableware from a Roman house dating back to the 2nd century AD and excavated in the heart of Ravenna over 20 years ago. In 1993 another domus was discovered in the town centre: it dates back to the late Roman era and we don’t know anything about the people who lived in it, except that they must have been extremely rich since they could afford at least 14 rooms and 3 courtyards with marble mosaic fl oors. Today this magnifi cent ruin, dubbed the “house of stone carpets” or Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra, is open to the public (entrance from the church of Sant’Eufemia).
The town hall in Forlì
The very walls of the town hall of Forlì, which takes up a whole side of Piazza Saffi, are imbued with history and intrigue. Girolamo Riario, the husband of the local ruler Caterina Sforza and Pope Sistus IV’s nephew, was killed here on 14 April 1488 and thrown out of one of the windows in the scenic Sala delle Ninfe (to be precise, the third window from left). Caterina then took her revenge and had one of the murderers hanged from the same window. The Palazzo Comunale and its tower, two of the symbols of Forlì, also have artistic merit: originally built in the 14th century, the complex underwent a long succession of changes to suit the tastes of the local rulers. A placard hanging at the entrance of the palace tells the story of the building. The grand staircase leads to a narrow gallery opening into the Sala dei Donzelli or degli Angeli, decorated by two large neoclassical canvases, the Argive Supplicants on the right and Leena biting her tongue on the left. Also interesting are the mayor’s room with its Napoleonic-style furniture and the council room or Sala dei Fasti, designed and frescoed by Bibbiena with trompe-l’oeil illusions of columns, balconies and banisters. The small Piazzetta della Misura behind the town hall is also worth a look: its 15th-century loggia, previously hidden under more recent walls, was discovered only in 1929.
