Schifanoia Palace
Palace of relaxation of the Este dedicated to rest, parties, banquets, games and theater.
Built outside the old walls at the request of Alberto V d’Este in 1385, it was enlarged and transformed during the time of Borso.
Both the façade and the interior decorations have undergone numerous interventions. The most famous space is the Room of the Months, painted in fresco by the masters of 15th-century Ferrara painting.
In the adjacent Sala degli Stucchi there is an important coffered ceiling from the 15th century that represents the cardinal and theological virtues, and the companies of the Este.
Today the palace houses the Municipal Museum of Ancient Art.
The Estes had several palaces, castles, villas in the city and outside the walls, which they temporarily inhabited to rest, go hunting or fishing, invite friends or to flee the city in case of plague or danger.
These residences received the name of delizie , places of courtly pleasure, with all the necessary components for that purpose.
The oldest of the delizie was the Schifanoia palace, from the verb schivare (to avoid, move away, avoid) and the noun noia (penalties, government concerns).
It was a palace dedicated to rest, but also to parties, banquets, games and theater.
