Palazzo Massari

History

Built in late 1591, commissioned by Count Onofrio Bevilacqua from Alberto Schiatti, the palace has a two-story, sober classical facade with twin windows separated by pilasters, Ionic on ground floor and Corinthian on the second floor. In the 1780s, the smaller Palazzina Bianca (in contrast to the larger "pink palazzo"), also known as the Palazzina dei Cavalieri di Malta, was built adjacent to the other palace. In addition, a Neoclassical pavilion designed by Luigi Cosimo Bertelli, called the Coffee House, was added.

In the 19th century, the palace became property of the Massari family, who then sold it to the Comune of Ferrara. Since 1975, it has housed the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of the city. It now also houses the collections of three other museums: Museo Giovanni Boldini, Museo dell'Ottocento, and Museo d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea "Filippo de Pisis".