National Archeological Museum of Ferrara — Attraction in Ferrara

The museum holds the excavated remains from an Etruscan necropolis and the trading town of Spina that was excavated between the 1920s and 1950s before being buried under fields in a land reclamation project. The town was founded in the sixth century BC and was an important port and marketplace. It became wealthy on trade and that wealth was reflected in the grave goods with lots of expensive Athenian ceramics. The town was destroyed by the Celts in around 300BC I think and then the river slowly moved, burying the town and necropolis under sediment where it remained lost until 1922.

The museum had some fabulous items on display and it was all well laid out in chronological order. The ceramics were the star of the show, some of them were around a metre tall and classic Greek designs but for me the best items were the carving of a married couple - so much affection in a 2500 year old stone carving - and the strainer, a beautiful design that would grace any modern home. There were also lots of wonderful glasswork and gold earrings as well as the inscriptions on the graves to help archaeologists understand population movements and interactions. Luckily there were plenty of English inscriptions and I spent a couple of hours including a quick walk round the garden and a look at the two preserved Roman canoes. The building itself is the Palazzo Costabili, built for the Ambassador to Milan in the late fifteenth century and has some remarkable ceilings as well as a quite...

This is the best archeological museum in this trip, so far (went to Venice and Bologna). Museums with this large amount of items tend to become an overwhelming warehouse or a careless highlight show without any educational intention (iykyk). But the Ferrara museum is well curated (multi media, tireless explanation, English translation, the giant "Spina book"...), takes its pace and tells an intriguing story of Spina. Plus it only coats €8. I found here again the joy from last year in Rome. The palace itself is beautiful, with a garden which I’m sure is even more stunning in spring. The staff are also friendly, helping me find...

We would like say thank you for Laura S., wich works on ticket sale. She was so nice and helpful, all instructions patiently explained with very good English and we got lots of care. Museum cost 9 euro for adult person, wich is excaptable price with proportions of visit rooms. They have realy hughe collection of vases and realy interesting exhibition of gold earring, you can also visit garden with well, and one small room with paitings and most interesting kept businnes boat. Interior and exterior is also realy beutiful. Wort a visit.

Once again, thank you Laura...