National Picture Gallery

Created in 1836, the Picture Gallery was the first public collection of Ferrarese paintings, put together to bring a halt to the dispersion of local artistic patrimony by setting up a modern museum in which to conserve and promote Ferrara's art and culture.

In 1958, the Picture Gallery, until then consisting mainly of medium-sized and large works with holy themes, passed under the national trust. In the following years it was enriched by donations and collections: today the museum has more than two hundred holy and profane works that offer the visitor a full view of Ferrarese painting between the 13th and the 17th centuries. The works are arranged in the rooms of the piano nobile, such as the Hall of Honour, decorated with beautiful 16th-century ceilings.

On display are works by Jacopo Bellini, Ercole de Roberti, and Andrea Mantegna; and gold-ground panels by painters of various origins, such as Simone dei Crocifissi, the Master of Figline, and Guariento. Among the paintings by the great masters of 15th-century Ferrara, you can admire the tondos depicting the Judgement and Martyrdom of Saint Maurelius by Cosmè Tura and the famous Muses Erato and Urania from the Studiolo di Belfiore.

Paintings by Garofalo, Ortolano, Carpaccio, Mazzolino, Dosso and Battista Dossi, Scarsellino, Bononi, Bastianino, and Guercino testify to the unique vibrancy of Ferrarese culture.

Dogs are not allowed