The bond between the author and the city of Este was certainly controversial, yet indissoluble, making the capital of the Po Valley a chosen character rather than a simple setting.
Thus were born the three itineraries proposed here, a bike ride and two walks. Each begins in the heart of Ferrara and heads out in a different direction, each finding within the Walls a characteristic and unique destination from Bassani’s perspective: the MEIS – Museum of Judaism and the Shoah (formerly the prison on Via Piangipane, where the writer was detained in 1943), the Prospettiva on Corso Giovecca, and Giorgio Bassani’s tomb at the Jewish cemetery on Via delle Vigne.
1 – In the shadow of the Finzi-Continis
From Corso Martiri della Libertà, the itinerary follows the monumental Corso Ercole I d’Este to reach the Walls and the Urban Park, all the way to the Jewish Cemetery on Via delle Vigne, where Giorgio Bassani is buried.
>>> Corso Ercole I d’Este
A Renaissance street connecting the Estense Castle and Porta degli Angeli, it is renowned for its palaces, including the Palazzo dei Diamanti, and museums. These museums were the cornerstone of the so-called Addizione Erculea, the revolutionary urban development commissioned by Duke Ercole I d’Este and built by the architect Biagio Rossetti between the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
A famous narrative portrait of Corso Ercole I d’Este is depicted in the famous novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.
>>>Massari Park
Massari Park, named after the adjacent late-16th-century palace, is the largest public garden within the city walls and is also known for having inspired Giorgio Bassani in his description of the legendary Garden of the Finzi-Continis, a non-existent place and a figment of the writer’s imagination.
>>> Certosa
The large complex was originally founded as a monastery by the Carthusians by order of Borso d’Este between 1452 and 1461, when the area was outside the city walls. According to Bassani, the Certosa square has always been a destination for lovers. [The Last Days of Clelia Trotti]
>>> DETOUR
From Corso Ercole I d’Este, turning onto Via Arianuova, you can find the Liceo Ariosto, adjacent to the Levantine Cemetery (Via G. Rossi), and, not far away, the House of Ludovico Ariosto.
Giorgio Bassani attended Ariosto when it was located at Via Borgoleoni 60, during the years of support for the fascist regime preceding the promulgation of the racial laws (1926-1934), and distinguished himself for the quality of his studies. A notable encounter during his high school years was with Latin and Greek teacher Francesco Viviani, whom Bassani admired and reinvented as Professor Guzzo in the novel Behind the Door.
Ludovico Ariosto’s House – Giorgio Bassani Foundation
Purchased by the poet in 1526, the house, complete with land and a vegetable garden, was Ariosto’s home during the final years of his life, until 1533. It currently houses the Giorgio Bassani Foundation, which houses the writer’s library and personal items, including a reconstruction of his Roman study.
>>> The Walls and the Giorgio Bassani Urban Park
Included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, the historic center of Ferrara is bordered by one of the largest fortified circuits in Italy, fully restored after a ten-year restoration project begun in 1988. From the Porta degli Angeli (Angels’ Gate), you have a complete view of the park named after Bassani in 2003. It extends over 1,200 hectares and occupies the ancient Barco, a hunting reserve of the Este family.
The restoration of the city walls was also initiated thanks to the commitment of Bassani, then president of Italia Nostra.
>> Jewish Cemetery – Funeral Monument to Giorgio Bassani
The Jewish Cemetery on Via delle Vigne, still in use, is the oldest in Emilia-Romagna and is located adjacent to a section of the Este walls in the Addizione Erculea. Inside, there are burials from the 18th century onwards and, in a secluded area, the tomb of Giorgio Bassani with the monument dedicated to him, created by sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro and architect Piero Sartogo in 2003.
2 – Behind the Ghetto Gate
From Corso Martiri della Libertà, the itinerary enters the medieval streets of the ancient Jewish ghetto, up to the MEIS, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Holocaust.
>>> Via Mazzini
At the end of Piazza Trento Trieste lies Via Mazzini, the main street of the Jewish community’s residential area, along with Via Vignatagliata and Via della Vittoria. This area was the city ghetto since 1627. All the streets were lined with gates that were closed at night to separate the Jewish community from the rest of the city.
At number 95 is the Synagogue complex, which still houses the Jewish community today.
The name of this important street in the Jewish ghetto recurs in the works of Giorgio Bassani and also appears in the title of the third of the Five Stories of Ferrara, “A Tombstone in Via Mazzini.”
>>> Via Vignatagliata
Via Vignatagliata is one of the oldest streets in the city and, together with Via della Vittoria, forms the residential area of the ghetto, with small buildings, internal courtyards, and charming balconies.
>>> Via Vittoria
A street in the medieval center that was part of the ghetto area.
The Spanish Rite Synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis and Fascists in 1944, was located at number 41.
>>> Ariostea Municipal Library
The city library, named after Ludovico Ariosto, houses the funerary monument of the great author of Orlando Furioso, as well as the autograph manuscript of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.
>>> DETOUR
Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale (Via Giuoco del Pallone, 15-17)
Center for Bassanian Studies
An architectural complex that belonged to the Del Sale (or Dal Sale) family in the 14th century, Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale exhibits a blend of 14th-century and contemporary elements. The frescoes decorating the Hall of Vices and Virtues and the Hall of Coats of Arms are particularly striking.
Thanks to the bequest of Portia Anne Prebys, Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale is home to the Center for Bassanian Studies.
>>> Via della Ghiara
Via della Ghiara or Ghiaia is also the ancient name of the current Via XX Settembre and refers to the bed of the ancient Po di Primaro River.
The street is very dear to Giorgio Bassani: his maternal grandparents’ house stood there, remembered in the poems “La cuginetta cattolica” and “La passeggiata prima di cena.”
>>> MEIS National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Holocaust
The Museum was established to offer the public the first comprehensive presentation of the heritage and legacy of Italian Judaism, as well as an opportunity for knowledge, history, identity, and cultural tourism. Its narrative covers 2,200 years of the vital and uninterrupted presence of Jews in Italy. The location chosen for the MEIS is the former city prison complex, where Bassani was imprisoned in July 1943.
3 – BEYOND THE PARABRISE
From Corso Martiri della Libertà, the itinerary follows Corso della Giovecca, entering the area just south of Ferrara’s “Main Street,” to reach the imposing monumental arch of Prospettiva.
>>> Corso della Giovecca
This long road follows the line of the external moat of the medieval fortifications, before the Addizione Erculea, the northward extension of the city of Ferrara, begun in 1492. It now represents the hinge between the medieval city to the south and the Renaissance city to the north.
The reader is literally introduced to this street by the incipit of the second of Bassani’s Five Stories of Ferrara, “The Walk Before Dinner.”
>>> DETOUR
Via Adelardi
This small street is located on the left side of the Cathedral; It was formerly called Via Gorgadello, a reference to the water deposits or whirlpools that formed in the city before the construction of showers or drainage channels. At number 9, a plaque commemorates the oldest tavern in the world, the Hostaria del Chiucchiolino.
Giorgio Bassani placed the home of one of his most famous characters on this street: Dr. Fadigati, the protagonist of The Gold-Eyed Spectacles.
>>> Via Savonarola
The current name of this street dates back to February 7, 1860, and is due to the presence of the paternal home of Girolamo Savonarola, the Dominican friar known for his political activities and preaching. He was hanged and burned in Florence, and his statue stands in the square near the Castle.
>>> Via Campofranco
This narrow street owes its name to the fact that it allowed duels to be fought without being prosecuted, as in the Franco-Franco camp. Here you can discover the Church of the Poor Clares of Corpus Domini and part of the convent where Saint Caterina Vegri lived, both built in 1415. The church is the burial place of the Este dukes Alfonso I, Ercole II, Alfonso II d’Este, and the duchesses Lucrezia Borgia and Lucrezia d’Este.
>>> DETOUR
Via Salinguerra
The street takes its name from the ancient Ghibelline Torelli Salinguerra family, who fought against the Guelphs in Ferrara between the 11th and 13th centuries. The Salinguerras held power for several decades, alternating with the Este family, who finally achieved supremacy in 1264.
Bassani provides a detailed description of the street in Lida Mantovani, the first of the Cinque storie ferraresi, a collection that won the writer the Strega Prize in 1956. The author places the protagonist’s humble home there.
>>> Via Scandiana
Here lies the Este family’s most famous residence, with its magnificent frescoes: Palazzo Schifanoia, where “weddings, parties, banquets, and dances were celebrated, and where ambassadors, princes, cardinals, and bishops were welcomed.”
>>> Via Cisterna del Follo – Casa Bassani
Giorgio Bassani spent his childhood and adolescence in a former noble residence, together with his father Enrico, his mother Dora Minerbi, and his younger siblings Paolo and Jenny. They lived a wealthy life, attending public school, attending classical high school, taking private music and drawing lessons, playing tennis at the Marfisa tennis club, skiing, and fencing.
A description of the building, somewhere between real and imaginary, appears in the novel Dietro la porta, although in the fictional narrative the residence appears to be located on Via Scandiana.
>>> Marfisa d’Este Tennis Club
Engineer Carlo Savonuzzi designed four tennis courts with access from Corso Giovecca. The club became a hub for the Ferrarese bourgeoisie. Among its members, alongside Bassani, were director Michelangelo Antonioni and art historian Roberto Longhi.
>>> Corso della Giovecca – Prospettiva
At the end of the street is the Palazzina Marfisa d’Este, a frescoed residence built around 1559 by Francesco d’Este, son of Duke Alfonso I and Lucrezia Borgia.
Corso della Giovecca ends with the monumental Arch of the Prospettiva, designed for scenography by Francesco Mazzarelli between 1703 and 1704, and cited in one of Giorgio Bassani’s great poems, “Rolls Royce.”