Waking up today was great, because the sun is back! How great to open the Baron’s door and see sunshine flood into our bedroom. Took a lovely chilled morning, with a proper tea and breakfast, even read the news! Only for a bit though, because it’s all very depressing.
We set off to town and quickly reached the main square – Ferrara is tiny! First, the castle. A massive, imposing four tower rectangular structure built by the d’Este family who really wanted to show off and legitimise their power. The tour was rich in historical information, but the castle is pretty much empty – it’s all just empty rooms with maybe just some frescos on the ceilings. The best parts were the dungeons and the tower with some fantastic views of the city. Maybe I am just desensitised after Palazzo Te, but this place was just a bit underwhelmingly empty.
Straight after we wanted to go to the cathedral, but here a disappointment – it’s closed for renovation! We walked around it, checked out the Christmas market, had some bread and salad for lunch (how nice to be able to sit in the sun, even if it’s a bit cold) and a delicious hot chocolate.
Ferrara is divided the medieval part on the south and the Renaissance part in the North. So far we’ve been hanging around the former, so now we decided to move on. It’s quite a difference – wider streets, larger buildings, and just generally more space, but also a bit less cosy.
Feeling a bit weary, we stopped in Parco Massari, enjoying the good weather and just taking a breather. The cold and the constant travel is starting to take it’s toll. We were hoping that the weather will be a bit better here, to be honest, but we haven’t had a day with double digits yet, and hardly had a night when it wasn’t sub zero. The snow yesterday was just too much, and all this is significantly less Mediterranean than I was hoping. It’s great that we can make it in the van, but between the cold and the dark, there is just nothing to do in the evenings than sit in restaurants (which we can’t afford every day) or under the duvet watching own breath in the van. Suboptimal either way. We are definitely looking forward to traveling more in the spring and summer…
After a break, we moved on towards San Cristóforo Anne the city charterhouse. And this ended up being the highlight of the day! A huge necropolis, designed in the most beautiful way around the church and its arcade passages, with impressive tombs, walls of urns, and an incredibly peaceful, serene atmosphere. Easily the most beautiful graveyard I’ve seen.
We walked slowly back, visiting a Franciscan church and a medieval street full of archways, heading towards the car. The Baron was really happy to see that we’re not leaving him alone for the night again.
