Palazzo Schifanoia
The Palazzo is closed for structural renovations, with no date set for its reopening. Check its website before heading over.
The Estes retreated for leisure to several pleasure palaces around Ferrara, including this one enlarged by Duke Borso d’Este between 1450 and 1471. Schifanoia translates roughly as “chasing away tedium,” and the concept comes to the fore in the Salone dei Mesi (Salon of the Months), where a mesmerizing cycle of frescoes represents the 12 months—or did, as only a few remain intact, each divided into three horizontal bands: The lower bands show scenes from the daily life of courtiers and people, with Duke Borso frequently making an appearance astride a horse; the middle bands illustrate signs of the zodiac; and the upper sections depict gods and goddesses associated with the sign. In this collaboration of the masters of the Ferrarese school of painting—Francesco del Cossa, Ercole dei Roberti, and Cosimo Tura—characters of those distant times seem to come alive and step out of the scenes (one figure actually does, and perches on the edge of the frame as if he’s about to jump into the room). Men ride horses and run footraces, harvesters pick grapes, women do needlework and play lutes. The artists even dug some skeletons out of the Este closet: In a mythical scene depicting Mars and Venus caught in a net as they make love, their clothing is laid beside the bed in such a way to suggest a decapitated man and woman—a sly reference to the fate of the adulterous Ugolino and Parisina d’Este (see above).
The Palazzo is closed for structural renovations, with no date set for its reopening. Check its website before heading over.
The Estes retreated for leisure to several pleasure palaces around Ferrara, including this one enlarged by Duke Borso d’Este between 1450 and 1471. Schifanoia translates roughly as “chasing away tedium,” and the concept comes to the fore in the Salone dei Mesi (Salon of the Months), where a mesmerizing cycle of frescoes represents the 12 months—or did, as only a few remain intact, each divided into three horizontal bands: The lower bands show scenes from the daily life of courtiers and people, with Duke Borso frequently making an appearance astride a horse; the middle bands illustrate signs of the zodiac; and the upper sections depict gods and goddesses associated with the sign. In this collaboration of the masters of the Ferrarese school of painting—Francesco del Cossa, Ercole dei Roberti, and Cosimo Tura—characters of those distant times seem to come alive and step out of the scenes (one figure actually does, and perches on the edge of the frame as if he’s about to jump into the room). Men ride horses and run footraces, harvesters pick grapes, women do needlework and play lutes. The artists even dug some skeletons out of the Este closet: In a mythical scene depicting Mars and Venus caught in a net as they make love, their clothing is laid beside the bed in such a way to suggest a decapitated man and woman—a sly reference to the fate of the adulterous Ugolino and Parisina d’Este (see above).
Details
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
