On Saturday, the 29th of September we (Anna, Blanca and Elisabetta) together with all of GSO students and Mrs Kim went to Ferrara for a trip. The purpose of this amazing trip was to let both Italian and know a little more about the country they are studying and living in. We planned all the trip in detail with the help of Mrs Kim, and divided all the destinations we had to visit, so each of us could explain one of them.
We left the school at 7.45 a.m. and we took the bus to go to Ferrara, during the travel everyone fell on deep sleep but once we arrived at our first destination, which was Piazza Ariostea, we were all excited.
Unluckily when we arrived to Piazza Ariostea we discovered that the statue was all covered because they were restructuring it. Perfect timing! Am I right?! Not only that but we were also called stupid by an unknown old man on bicycle – however, it was impossible to be offended by his words when he was saying that insult with such a big smile.
Anyway, Piazza Ariostea is famous for the Statue of the renowned poet Ludovico Ariosto which is located at the centre of it and from which gathers the name “Ariostea” and for the Palio that every year takes place here: this is a race of most of the people of Ferrara who get dressed with ancient costumes and animals such as horses and donkeys and pass by around it.
Proceeding we arrived to the Castle of Ferrara which was huge and near the centre. It was all surrounded by water and there were 4 bridges that allowed us to go into it.
We got into the Castle and we had a sight of all the stunning brick walls and paintings inside it, some of them were broken due to the earthquake that there was in 2012.
The earthquake really destroyed a lot of outstanding works of art of the Medieval-Renaissance city of Ferrara.
After the visit inside the Castle, we visited it from the outside! Mrs Kim made us a very beautiful surprise, she brought us outside the Castle to make a route on the boat around the medieval architectonic piece.
Still to let our marvellous trip proceeding with the same tendency that took when we were arrived in Piazza Ariostea, the boat could bring around just 12 people per time and guess what? We were 13! So we had to split into 2 groups to spin around the Castle.
Luckily the Castle was near the centre so we could explore a little more the centre while the others were making their turn on the boat and vice-versa.
After the amazing and refreshing boat trip, we wanted to visit the Duomo and Mrs Kim introduced us to the story of the magnificent Duomo. Unfortunately the Duomo’s guardians were closing the doors and they said we could go back there at 3:00 p.m. so we ended up laughing for how our day was going on.
We decided to go eating so we went to McDonald’s to have lunch all together and then, we had some free time to go around and enjoy the sunny city.
During the free time we had a lot of fun and we had the possibility to know better each other.
After that we all met in front of the Duomo which we couldn’t see from the outside because it was in restoration due to the earthquake, but that we appreciated anyway from the inside; with a mixture of Romanesque and Baroque styles, the interior of the Basilic was exquisitely decorated with frescoes, statues and other details that made the spectator feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the place.
Via delle Volte and the Ghetto were the next: we walked all together to the first one and Anna made a presentation of this street, which was the medieval centre of Ferrara, important for the market and commerce. We passed through it to reach from Via San Romano the particular Ghetto, where it was possible to see the old hinges of the gate that separated the area dedicated to the Jewish people to the rest of the city. Even now this street preserves his ancient story and while we were crossing it, it was like a jump into the past.
Following the walk through the Medieval streets we arrived to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Vado, a church that dates back to the tenth century. Legends say that, during this period, a priest tried to cut the bread for the ceremony but from the bread spilled blood, showing the presence of God in the place. This is considered a miracle and they still preserve the bloodstains on the wall. Some of us were more skeptical than others but we were all able to walk around and observe the blood and some magnificent frescos and art pieces proper of the architecture of the Renaissance.
After enjoying this trip full of laughs and curiosity we went back to the bus, therefore concluding our amazing day and doing our way back to Oderzo.
Blanca Sancho Ibáñez, Elisabetta Casonato and Anna Cia
GSO students