palazzo schifanoia (palazzo della gioia)

The frescos in this palace (the room of the months) are a must see. they are a pleasure to watch and you feel sad for the ones who have been lost forever. Nowadays the palace is only partially open (because of the eartquake of a few years ago) but I think it is worth going there also because the walk from the central square to the palace is extremely pleasant and you have a chance to appreciate the beauty of the city outside the main attractions (the palace, the cathedral and palazzo diamanti)

It has some spectacular frescoes, some have been lost, but is worth it. The garden has a cafe, really charming, "vintage", loved it.

DISCLAIMER: I'm from Ferrara and I had to study Palazzo Schifanoia and its "hall of the months" ("Salone dei mesi") for a university exam in the mid eighties so I'm disgustingly partisan in this review ;-) You can easily find a quite good description of Palazzo Schifanoia at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Schifanoia) so I will not waste any word trying to describe it. The single notable reason to visit Palazzo Schifanoia is a large hall called "Salone dei Mesi" ("Hall of the months"). This hall was painted "a fresco" by the best painters of the time (Cosmè Tura, Francesco del Cossa, Ercole de' Roberti, etc.) and was designed to be a "magical device" intended to convey magical power from an astrological dimension and concentrate it on the head of the Duke Borso d'Este. Each and every image is intended to evoke a specific astrological "spirit" and convey its power to the Duke. Have a look at the hall here: http://www.artecultura.fe.it/378/il-salone-dei-mesi . Google Street view here: http://bit.ly/1iokNqM .So, if you like Dan Brown's books, that mixes history of arts, religion, exoterism and magic, most likley you will find this palace and its paintings fascinating. Be aware that Palazzo Schifanoia is a small palace and its main (or only) attraction is the Salone dei Mesi. You will find very little else here. Moreover, you will need some book or article to understand the paintings. I studied them on "La tirannia degli astri: Gli affreschi astrologici di Palazzo Schifanoia" by Marco Bertozzi (Bertozzi was my Renaissance history professor at that time) but I do not know of any english book on this topic, unfortunately. The only one english article I was able to find is on Frieze: http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/picture-piece-frescoes-in-the-palazzo-schifanoia-ferrara/ . Beware also of possible closures: Ferrara was hit by an earthquake in 2012 and some restoration is still going on. Many attractions can be closed for maintenance, included this one. Get some info beforehand from APT ("Azienda Promozione Turistica", that is: the tourist's office).

There are only two rooms to see but one has a splendid cieling the other some wonderful wall paintings although time has taken its toll and only about 50% of them are still in reasonable condition. Still, you get a great impression of what it would have been like.

We visited while having a myFE card. There are just 2 poorly lit rooms, one with only a nice ceiling with lots of angels, the other huge room had some outstanding frescos on one wall, one longer wall with partially damaged frescos and 2 walls with just the leftovers of once beautiful frescos. Happy we were there on the myFE card otherwise a waste of money. The caffee in the courtyard looks photogenic also, but we did not sample their foods and drinks.

This is very interesting if you are interested in astrology , as the frescoes, once grand I am sure, show all the astrology signs with three levels of heaven, cosmos and life on earth. There are unusual but it's quite a walk to get there for only two rooms and only one interesting to me. The cafe is pretty eccentric tho , in a large grassy area with women's dresses hanging on coat hangers in the trees. A fresh cool space , which makes you feel out in the country , which the palace once was.

The marvellous paintings of the months - it is such a pity that so many of these are missing. As with all high up and ceiling paintings the museum authorities need to provide step ladders (safe ones with rails of course) or large angled mirrors so that more detail can be viewed

From reading the local information, I was expecting much more than one large hall with some restored frescoes. Worth popping into if you are in this part of town and have a FE card, giving free entry to all the state owned museums in the town.

If you care anything at all about Renaissance Italy, you must not miss these frescoes. Although they are in varying states of repair, they provide an absolutely unique portrait of Renaissance Ferrara. I could spend hours here. Yes, they are poorly lit, for reasons good and bad, and you wish they would have restored them all (though of course this would cost a great deal of money). But they really are exquisite and unique.

Please make sure to find the cafe on the peaceful and green courtyard- after checking the wonderful frescos.

I can't say I loved it or hated it, however, if you are in Ferrara, you shouldn't miss it. The architecture is very beautiful and if it is sunny, it's a great place for afternoon tea

I looked at them for an hour! So much happening, busy renaissance scenes. Wonderful colors. Costumes, animals.

Such a shame that some frescos are destroyed, but those remaining are so full of life and beauty. They capture the spirit of Ferrara when it was one of the most artistically and especially musicalyl creative cities in Italy

The garden of palazzo Schifanoia hosts a nice sweet restaurant that mainly consists of old wooden furnishings and offers a daily menu very precise. It is such a sweet corner to have a good pasta on Sunday where you can enjoy shade and peace.

Since the Palace is one of the most representative cultural attractions of Ferrara, it is worth a visit. However, there are only two small rooms inside. The outstanding internal frescos of the first room (that of the Months) are unfortunately partially faded and damaged whereas the second room (that of the Virtues) has an interesting panelled ceiling in addition to the painting of the Cardinal and Theological Virtues. No guides are provided but just an useful photocopied piece of paper, if this is available. 15 minutes are enough to conclude your visit. Please, avoid the annexed café like the plague!! In spite of the nice location, the products are criminally expensive. For instance, for one (disgusting) coffee we paid 2 euro (more than twice the standard price)! No to mention the total bill...Quite shameful.