Since 1938, the Marfisa d’Este villa, built around 1559 by Francesco D’Este and inherited in 1578 by his natural daughter Marfisa, has been dedicated to the museum-like recreation of a sixteenth-century residence. The original decorations, the work of the Filippi workshop, were largely repainted during early twentieth-century restoration works; nevertheless, they represent the most explicit Ferrarese testimony of aristocratic preference for grotesque decoration. Having lost the original furnishings, the rooms were furnished with pieces sourced from the antique market, many of which came from the Venetian Donà delle Rose collection. In addition to wardrobes, chests, tables, and cupboards, mainly dating between the 16th and 17th centuries, the museum features paintings and sculptures. The decoration of the original floor is documented by some ceramic tiles displayed in the showcases of the last room. The large garden, which once connected the entire complex with Palazzo Bonacossi, hosts the Loggia degli Aranci, an example of a painted pergola open illusionistically onto a fake backdrop.
Inside the building, the portrait of Marfisa as a child faces that of her sister Bradamante in the frescoes of the atrium, created by Camillo Filippi who in the second half of the sixteenth century executed the grotesques on the vaults of the building, in collaboration with the painters of his workshop. In Ferrara, the Filippi workshop was the most reputable atelier in the sixteenth century to be entrusted with the creation of lavish interiors within palaces and other buildings. The decoration of the villa is an excellent example of grotesque decoration, which defines the noble sixteenth-century residences; its vaults depict mythological scenes, the exploits of Francesco d’Este, vegetal festoons, and portraits. Between 1910 and 1938, the painting restoration of the vaults was conducted with the intent not to distort the meaning of the original decorations, which were largely repainted, except for those in the atrium, by Giuseppe Mazzolani, Enrico Giberti, and Augusto Pagliarini. Among the sculptures present is the marble ‘Bust of Ercole I d’Este,’ made for the Porta degli Angeli by the Mantuan Sperandio di Bartolomeo Savelli and the marble relief, attributed to the workshop of Antonio Lombardi, with the ‘Madonna enthroned with Child, St. George, and the patron,’ possibly identifiable as Alfonso I d’Este. Among the decorations that can be observed are the music-playing cherubs looking down from the ceiling of the anteroom of the Loggia degli Aranci, decorated with landscapes and scenes of hunting and fishing depicted in the Sala della Grotta, which was perhaps once used as a music room.
Information about Civic Museums of Ancient Art – Palazzina Marfisa
Corso Giovecca, 170,
44121 Ferrara (Ferrara)
0532207450
arteantica@comune.fe.it
https://www.artecultura.fe.it/index.phtml
Source: MIBACT
