The places of Ludovico Ariosto
Literary Ferrara
Transport methods
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1474 into a noble Ferrarese family, Ludovico Ariosto settled in Ferrara in 1484. Here he was sent to study law, but abandoned it to devote himself to literary and philosophical studies.
In 1503, following the death of his father and in order to cope with the financial difficulties of his large family, he found employment with Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, Duke Alfonso I’s brother, and covered numerous administrative and diplomatic roles. He had little vocation to be a courtier and this caused him much unease and bitterness in those years. However, he managed to cultivate his studies and in 1516 the first edition of Orlando Furioso was published.
. In 1517 he passed over to the service of Alfonso I. Due to economic difficulties, Ariosto was forced to accept the office of the Duke’s Commissioner in Garfagnana from 1522 to 1525. It was in this period that he wrote some of his famous Satires. Once back in Ferrara, he spent the last years of his life writing the final edition Orlando Enraged which was published in 1532, a year before he died.
The places of Ariosto in Ferrara
The Ariosto Family Houses - Via Gioco del Pallone, 29/31
Private, not visitable
The family lived in these two large houses for a long time, as did Ludovico before he bought his own house. On the façade of No. 29, near the corner of Vicolo del Granchio, is the marble coat of arms of the Ariosto family.
Pandolfo Ariosto House - Via del Carbone, 15
Ludovico Ariosto’s House - Via Ariosto, 67
Ariosto’s Tomb – Ariosto’s Library - Via delle Scienze, 17
Piazza Ariostea
