As I was in Ferrara during a Covid lockdown, all the musuems and galleries were closed, so when I asked about what to do, the receptionist at my hotel suggested that I take a walk around Certosa di Ferrara (Ferrara Charterhouse) www.certosadiferrara.it, the ornamental cemetery in which many of the city’s great and good are buried.
The municipal cemetery was established in 1813 on the grounds of the earlier Renaissance-style Chiesa di San Cristoforo alla Certosa, the church of a former Carthusian monastery (known as a ‘certosa’ in Italian and ‘charterhouse‘ in English, the latter a corruption of the French word ‘chartreuse’).
I do like viewing monumental cemeteries (see these posts on Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Valparaíso) as they often contain beautiful artworks in one of my favourite styles, Art Nouveau.
Click on the pics for the best view.
The Jewish cemetery is right next door but I’m guessing that viewing is by appointment only as it looked firmly closed. The entrance (dating from 1911) was designed by Ferrarese architect of Jewish origin, Ciro Contini. He also designed many of the Stile Liberty/Art Nouveau villas on Viale Cavour that feature in my modern architecture post (next).
You’ll find the cemetery on my map at 50 Piazza Borso, to the north of the centre.