Bucket List
When I decided to go to Milan for design week, I figured I would come in a little earlier and spend a few days with our daughter, who is currently living in Amsterdam. Fred jumped on the trip, and she chose Bologna because she has always wanted to go to Palazzo Schifanoia to see the frescoes in Ferrara. I am so glad we did. Before we got out of town, Fred and I went to Allegro, a coffee shop with insanely good coffee and pastries. These croissants were perfect and huge!
I love a good candle melt.
Palazzo Schifanoia is a Renaissance palace built for the Este family in 1385 as a retreat from “boredom.” Over time, the palace has added several wings. The room where the frescoes are housed took my breath away when we entered the room.
The frescoes were made in the late 1460s by Francesco del Cossa, Ercole de’ Roberti, and others. They were commissioned by Borso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, who is in many of the frescoes noting that he was a wise ruler. The twelve represent each month of the year, where the top 1/3 represents Greek mythology, and the second 1/3 represents the Zodiac and the last 1/3 represents every day life.
Some of them have been restored, while others need to be. What I loved about them—and there are countless things—is that there was nothing pious about any of them. There was no religion at all, which is rare, and it makes me wonder whether the religious paintings were just the fashion of the times rather than the reality.
The room after the frescoes was where Este would greet visitors and the ceiling.
We had lunch in the town, at La Rachetta, for some pizza and then walked through the town.
The town is wonderful.
The castle even has a moat.
We came back to Bologna and walked around. I never took art history or architecture classes, so everything I have ever learned is from reading. Our daughter’s fiancee noted the work of the architect Gavina. It was a store he did in the 1960s. I love this work.
The details
The dressing room
The water. Fantastic.
Dinner was not great, but the lasagna was almost made up for the entire meal. Tomorrow, Milan.