Things to do in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna: The Best Churches & Cathedrals

Reviewed By asiyahnoemik - Pula, Croatia

Beautiful Cathedral, dedicated to St. George. It is located in the historic center opposite the Palazzo Municipale (Town Hall). The sacredness, the majesty and the beauty of the decorations and the frescoes leaves us breathless. The cathedral of Ferrara dates from the 12th century and bears witness to the historical periods of the city. The outstanding facade, divided into three sections, was begun in Romanesque style, still visible in the lower part. The facade is rich in scenes from the New Testament above the central door, the work of the sculptor Nicholaus (1135). The upper part was built some decades later in a Gothic style and besides the numerous small arches and the splayed mullioned windows presents an extraordinary Last Judgment by an unknown sculptor over the central loggia. The imposing Renaissance campanile (Bell tower), in pink and white marble, is an unfinished work attributed to Leon Battista Alberti. The interior of the church is rich in murals, paintings and sculptures by renowned Renaissance masters such as Nicolò Baroncelli and Domenico di Paris (bronze statues of the Crucifixion and of Saints George and Maurilius), Guercino (splendid canvas of the Martyrdom of St Lawrence), Bastianino (grandiose Last Judgment). The interior of the cathedral was rebuilt in 1712 in Baroque style. During our visit it was under reconstruction, but it does not diminish the splendor of the Cathedral. It is possible to enter the Cathedral at certain times.