Photo: Nicola Quirico, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Museum, 15th century
Pinacoteca Nazionale
Art museum in Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara, Italy
Ferrara (FE), Emilia-Romagna
At a glance
- Type
- Museum
- Period
- Middle Ages, 15th century
- Protection
- Italian national heritage
- Coordinates
- 44°50′32″ N, 11°37′15″ E
- Address
- corso Ercole I d’Este, 21 - Ferrara
History and description
The Pinacoteca Nazionale (transl. national picture gallery) is an art gallery in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located on the piano nobile (or first floor) of the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a work of Renaissance architecture by Biagio Rossetti, commissioned by Leonello d’Este in 1447. Not to be confused with the Civic Museum on the lower floor, which has hosted temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 1992, the Pinacoteca houses a collection of paintings by the Ferrarese School dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. It was founded in 1836 by the Municipality of Ferrara after Napoleon's widespread dissolution of churches threatened the protection of important public artworks. The gallery is formed as much around notable northern Italian painters as it is around the exquisite interior decoration of the palace itself, together with remnants of frescoes from local churches and later acquisitions from the Sacrati Strozzi collection.
Since 2015 the Pinacoteca Nazionale has formed a part of the Gallerie Estensi, a network of museums sharing Ferrara's cultural heritage with that of Modena and Sassuolo.
Exhibits
The Pinacoteca tells the history of the House of Este from that family's promotion as dukes of Ferrara in 1296 to its forced relocation to Modena in 1598. The gallery contains an impressive range of Italian works spanning the reigns of the dukes Leonello, Borso, Ercole I, Alfonso I and Alfonso II d'Este. Arranged chronologically, the exhibition begins with a room dedicated to late Gothic sculpture, fresco and panel painting, progressing through to the early Renaissance, the sixteenth century, Mannerism and lastly to the early seventeenth century, before Cesare I lost Ferrara to the Papal States. Highlights of the tour include the Hall of Honour, the sixteenth-century apartments of Virginia de' Medici (the roundels for these, early products of the Carracci workshop, can be seen in Modena's Galleria Estense) and a room dedicated to the step-by-step process of creating a fresco, panel or oil painting, complementing Cennino Cennini’s Il Libro dell’arte.
Collection
Deposition from the Cross by Bastarolo (Giuseppe Mazzuoli)
Allegory with Bacchus; The Virgin and Child, St. Lucy and St. Matthew; Circumcision by Bastianino
St. Sebastian, St. Joseph, St. Job and Worshippers from the Mori family; Death of the Virgin by Nicolò Pisano
Frescoes from the 14th and early 15th century such as Scenes from the life of St. John the Evangelist and Virtues and Vices.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Pinacoteca Nazionale».
Timeline
- 15th centuryFounded
- 1836Opened
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
FerraraTrain, nearest
1.3 km as the crow flies
Pinacoteca Nazionalecorso Ercole I d’Este, 21 - Ferrara
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
Loading map…
Nearby
See on the mapMore museums in Emilia-Romagna
- Free 1st Sunday
Frequently asked questions
Where is Pinacoteca Nazionale?
Pinacoteca Nazionale is in Ferrara, in the province of Ferrara (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. Address: corso Ercole I d’Este, 21 - Ferrara. GPS coordinates: 44.84232, 11.62097.
How much does it cost to visit Pinacoteca Nazionale?
There is an admission charge, but entry is free on the first Sunday of the month (Domenica al museo). Up-to-date prices are on the official website.
Is Pinacoteca Nazionale wheelchair accessible?
According to OpenStreetMap data, the site is wheelchair accessible.
How old is Pinacoteca Nazionale?
Wikidata dates it to the 15th century.
What else is there to see near Pinacoteca Nazionale?
Nearby you’ll find: Museo di Paleontologia e Preistoria "Piero Leon (0 m away), Palazzo Turchi di Bagno (Ferrara) (0 m away), Museo del Risorgimento e della Resistenza (100 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 3 photos
- Ingresso pinacoteca nazionale palazzo Diamanti Ferrara — Nicola Quirico, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bellini Jacopo - Adorazione dei Magi - 1459-60 - Pinacoteca Nazionale, Ferrara — Paolofortis, CC0
- Ingresso pinacoteca nazionale palazzo Diamanti Ferrara 01 — Nicola Quirico, CC BY-SA 4.0
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences