MUSEUM
Museo di Casa Romei
Must-see because...
You will discover a fascinating stately home that still retains its sumptuous original decoration
You will enjoy the feeling of being entertained in a real Renaissance courtyard
Inside the museum you will follow a route that will take you through the elegant frescoed rooms of the mansion
You will learn about the history, transformations and restorations that a building of such historical importance has undergone over the years
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Casa Romei Museum
Casa Romei is a museum unique in its kind. An architectural complex unparalleled in the city, embellished with priceless decorations and works of art that will lead you to discover fragments of daily life and art of the Ferrara Renaissance.
Historical Notes
Commissioned around 1442 by merchant and banker Giovanni Romei, the architectural complex of Casa Romei is one of the most interesting in Ferrara. It is the only remaining example in the city of a 15th-century stately home which has retained its original structures and decorations. The initial design – probably the work of Pietrobono Brasavola – was later modified to enlarge and embellish the residence on the occasion of Giovanni Romei's wedding to Polissena d'Este – niece of duke Borso – and again during the 16th century to house Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. Starting in 1894, Casa Romei was slowly turned into a museum, rescuing it from deterioration and avoiding its demolition, as was initially proposed by the City Council. The Casa Romei Museum was officially opened in 1955.
The Visit
A visit to the Casa Romei Museum is an evocative way to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of a noble Este residence, typical of the era of Leonello and Borso d'Este.
Visitors will be able to stroll through different and fascinating rooms as well as the two late Gothic-style courtyards. For instance, on the main floor are wall paintings of the loggias and the Hall of Honor is decorated with a precious wooden lozenge ceiling. Another two famous rooms are the Hall of the Sibyls with its delicate frescoes – an emblematic example of refined interiors of the time – and the Hall of the Prophets.
Inside the museum, you can also admire fragments of frescoes detached from various deconsecrated churches in Ferrara, such as Sant'Andrea and Santa Caterina Martire, as well as statues, tombstones and other architectural decorations from city buildings. Donatello, Francesco del Cossa and Bastianino are just some of the famous names echoing in the rooms of the Casa Romei Museum.
You may not know about...
GIOVANNI BOLDINI AT CASA ROMEI. In 1963, Franco Farina organized in the rooms of the Casa Romei Museum a first major exhibition on Giovanni Boldini’s work. This was an international event, which attracted as many as 54,000 visitors. In a typical belle epoque appreciation for canvas, hundreds of meters of blue satin covered the room walls
THE CRIME OF ERCOLE STROZZI. Outside Casa Romei, at the intersection of Via Savonarola and Via Praisolo, a plaque reminds us of the crime of Ercole Strozzi. A poet and literary man gossiped about because of his friendship with Duchess Lucrezia Borgia, Strozzi's body was found lying in that same street on the morning of June 6, 1508. A crime that to this day remains shrouded in mystery, with no culprit or murder weapon.
LAUDOMIA ROMEI, UGO AND PARISINA. Laudomia Romei, Giovanni's sister, fostered the notorious and ill-fated love affair between Ugo and Parisina. These two famous lovers were imprisoned and brutally murdered in the dungeons of the Castello Estense in Ferrara at the behest of Marquis Niccolò III, Ugo's father and Parisina's husband. Because of her involvement Laudomia, like the two lovers and all other adulterous women of the city, was also beheaded.
Ph. © Giacomo Brini