HISTORICAL SITES
Via delle Volte
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Via delle Volte
While visiting Ferrara you certainly cannot exclude from your plans a walk along the most evocative street of the city, the fascinating Via delle Volte. As will perhaps be clear to you from its name, the cobblestoned Via delle Volte is covered in several points by arches and vaults. In Middle Ages, the overhead passages connected the commercial warehouses, located at the river’s edge, with the stores in the centre. Via delle Volte was the axis along which the city first developed, near the Po river. A walk along this street will transport you to ancient times.
Via delle Volte - Historical Notes
Originally more than 2 km long, Via delle Volte is located in the centre of the city's medieval quarter. The historic street originated where the mysterious Castel Tedaldo stood, right where the monumental Aqueduct was built in the 20th century. Today its cobblestone course is shorter and connects Via Gioco del Pallone, at the foot of Piazza Verdi, to the Church of San Paolo, behind which it turns into Via Capo delle Volte.
Though not too wide, Via delle Volte skirted the ancient course of the Po river in a straight line, before it was diverted in 1152: the warehouses of the downtown businesses were located at the river’s edge and the overhead passages allowed by the vaults facilitated the transport of goods up to shops or homes.
Arches and vaults, with their characteristic ogive or rounded shape, date back to the 13th-14th centuries and characterize the entire course of the street. The aforementioned overhead passages are nothing more than covered corridors that connect the two adjacent buildings.
Via delle Volte was fundamental to the city's development, the beating heart of commerce. Today, it will enrich your visit, transporting you to a time of ancient traditions and romantic getaways. Though fog – as we know – can be annoying, when it descends on Via delle Volte it creates a unique and magical atmosphere.
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FICKLE LOVE. Rumour has it that Via delle Volte was home to the brothels of Ferrara; a narrative that still survives in the memory of the local residents of Ferrara, who still recognize it as such. Though these activities are now a thing of the past, they certainly help you imagine its ancient atmosphere.