In the Ferrara area the bicycle has always been linked with work, transport, socialising and leisure. The flat countryside crossed by waterways invites you to travel.

You don’t have to be a champion to go cycling in the province of Ferrara. There are neither hills nor mountains but a wide and fertile plain, once largely covered with water and conquered by man in the course of extensive land reclamation works. You can pedal slowly through a landscape which abounds in cultivated fields, rural houses, aristocratic villas, castles, fortresses and a network of rivers and canals reigned over by the great river Po.

Not to be missed

Powerful and Splendid Renaissance Ferrara.
Provided with a fascinating town layout, Ferrara is a charming Medieval and Renaissance artistic city. In Piazza della Cattedrale, the heart of political and religious life in the times of the Estense family, are the Archiepiscopal Palace and the Town Hall, built in 1243 as the dukes’ residence. Building of the Estense Castle in the adjacent piazza began in 1385. The Cathedral with its magnificent Romanesque-Gothic façade stands almost opposite the Town Hall. The main portal is very beautiful with a bas-relief depicting St. George on horseback piercing the dragon. One of the most celebrated buildings of the Italian Renaissance is the 15th century Palazzo dei Diamanti (Palace of the Diamonds), so called because of the diamond point stone facing designed by Biagio Rossetti. Today the palace is the prestigious seat of the National Picture Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. Also noteworthy are Biagio Rossetti’s Palace of Ludovico il Moro and the Schifanoia Palace, marvellously frescoed by Cossa and Ercole de’ Roberti.

Click the itineraries above to discover the one which suits your requirements the most.
The Beautiful and the Good

The most widespread craft objects are in wrought iron, copper and pewter. Highly interesting too are engraved ceramics and wooden carvings and sculptures.

As far as food is concerned, Ferrara combines aristocratic and popular cuisine, starting with the salama da sugo of Renaissance tradition, a kind of pork sausage much loved by Lucrezia Borgia, and going on to pasticcio of macaroni, cappellacci with pumpkin and the spice cake called panpepato.

Among the recipes based on both fresh- and salt-water fish the eels of Comacchio are celebrated by gourmets and should be washed down with the red "wine of the sands", the Bosco Eliceo. Bread too is special in the Ferrara area (cornetto, ciupèta, ricciolina), and so are water melons which are said to be the best in the world.

Visit the section "Where to book" to gain useful information and plan a holiday along the Adriatic Coast of the Emilia Romagna region selecting agencies and accommodation facilities in the province of Ferrara which offer targeted services for cyclists.