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
In fondo a Piazza Trento Trieste inizia Via Mazzini, via principale della zona di residenza della Comunità ebraica insieme a Via Vignatagliata e Via della Vittoria, e ghetto cittadino a partire dal 1627. Tutte le strade erano delimitate dai portoni che di notte venivano chiusi per separare la Comunità ebraica dal resto della cittadinanza.
Al civico 95 si trova il complesso delle Sinagoghe, ancor oggi sede della Comunità ebraica.
Il nome di questa importante via del ghetto ebraico è ricorrente nell’opera di Giorgio Bassani e compare anche nel titolo della terza delle Cinque storie ferraresi, Una lapide in via Mazzini.
>>> Via Vignatagliata
Via Vignatagliata è una delle più antiche strade della città e insieme a Via della Vittoria forma la zona residenziale dell’area del ghetto, con piccoli palazzi, cortili interni e suggestivi balconi.
>>> Via Vittoria
Via del centro medievale che faceva parte dell’area del ghetto.
Al civico 41 aveva sede la Sinagoga di rito spagnolo, distrutta dai nazi-fascisti nel 1944.
>>> Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea
La Biblioteca cittadina intitolata a Ludovico Ariosto ospita il monumento funebre del grande autore dell’Orlando furioso, nonché il manoscritto autografo de Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini.
>>> DEVIAZIONE
Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale (Via Giuoco del Pallone, 15-17)
Centro Studi Bassaniani
Complesso architettonico appartenuto nel Trecento alla famiglia Del Sale (o Dal Sale), Casa Minerbi -Dal Sale esibisce una compresenza di elementi trecenteschi e contemporanei. Colpiscono gli affreschi a decoro del Salone dei Vizi e delle Virtù e della Sala degli Stemmi.
Grazie al lascito di Portia Anne Prebys, Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale è sede del Centro Studi Bassaniani.
>>> Via della Ghiara
Via della Ghiara o Ghiaia è il nome antico anche dell’attuale Via XX Settembre e si riferisce all’alveo dell’antico Po di Primaro.
La via è molto cara a Giorgio Bassani: lì si ergeva la casa dei nonni materni, ricordata nella poesia La cuginetta cattolica e ne La passeggiata prima di cena.
>>> MEIS Museo Nazionale dell’Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah
Il Museo è stato istituito per offrire al pubblico la prima presentazione organica del patrimonio e dell’eredità dell’ebraismo italiano, nonché una opportunità di conoscenza, storia, identità e turismo culturale. Oggetto della sua narrazione sono 2.200 anni di vitale e ininterrotta presenza degli ebrei in Italia. Il luogo scelto come sede del MEIS è il complesso delle ex-carceri cittadine, dove fu rinchiuso Bassani nel luglio 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.”
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