The museum has been housed since 1898 in Palazzo Schifanoia and includes a series of collections that testify to the city’s history. Its origins date back to the 18th century, when the Public Museum, the Library, and the Academy of Drawing were established in Palazzo Paradiso, the seat of the University. Currently, the collections, presented partially or on rotation, are arranged in the 15th-century rooms and the 14th-century wing of the palace. The first nucleus, consisting of the lapidary collection, was formed in 1735 at Palazzo Paradiso. However, it was the purchase of the Bellini numismatic fund in 1758 that officially founded the museum.
Increased by numerous donations, the Medagliere, among the main ones regionally, counts more than 22,000 pieces; besides the core of Italian coins, medieval and modern, it includes Greek, Roman, and Punic sections, a collection of dies and punches from the Ferrara mint, and a series of medals created by great Renaissance artists: Pisanello, Matteo dè Pasti, Sperandio da Mantua. The archaeological collections, expanded during the 18th century, originated from the combination of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman ceramics, glass, lamps, and small bronzes, to which the Egyptian collection was added in the 19th century.
From Cardinal Riminaldi, the group of engraved gems and the main core of the bronze collection were donated, featuring works by Giambologna and Algardi. On rotation, an extraordinary selection of Carthusian and Olivetan choir books is also visible: notable are the Bible commissioned by Borso d’Este for the San Cristoforo monastery, illuminated by Guglielmo Giraldi, and the incunable Decretum Gratiani illuminated by craftsmen from the time of Ercole I. Among the minor collections, the ivory collection boasts diverse pieces of great interest, including plaques with courtly scenes.
In 1935, the Pasetti collection of graffito ceramics was acquired; after World War II, following the suppression of the Charitable Works, a large number of sacred furnishings and a group of Ferrarese paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries arrived, with paintings by Bononi, Zola, Scarsellino. In the 14th-century wing, works of exceptional value are displayed, such as the alabaster polyptych by the Nottingham sculptor from the early 15th century, the Madonna with Child, a polychrome terracotta by Domenico di Paris, and part of the wooden choir of Sant’Andrea, inlaid in the 15th century by the Lendinara workshop.
Information about Civic Museums of Ancient Art – Palazzo Schifanoia
Via Scandiana, 23,
44121 Ferrara (Ferrara)
0532232933
arteantica@comune.fe.it
Source: MIBACT
