Pinacoteca Nazionale di Ferrara

About the museum

The Pinacoteca was founded in 1836 with a first nucleus of works from city churches, placed in the Palazzo Municipale. In 1842 the Comune di Ferrara bought Palazzo dei Diamanti from the last heirs of the Villa family, and in 1846 transferred the collection there. In 1958 the Pinacoteca passed to the State. Since 1 January 2026 it has been part of the Musei Nazionali di Ferrara, the institution of the Ministry of Culture set up in October 2023, which also brings together the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, the Museo di Casa Romei and Casa Minerbi – Dal Sale.

The palazzo was built between 1493 and 1503 by Biagio Rossetti for Sigismondo d'Este, brother of Duke Ercole I, and takes its name from the diamond-point rustication of the façade, made of about 8,500 marble blocks. Damaged by the bombing of 1944, it was restored also after the earthquake of 2012. The Pinacoteca occupies the piano nobile, with the salone d'onore and the 16th-century apartment of Virginia de' Medici.

The route offers a survey of painting in Ferrara from the 13th to the 18th century: frescoes detached from the churches of San Bartolomeo and Sant'Andrea, the masters of the 15th century such as Cosmè Tura and Ercole de' Roberti, the Polittico Costabili by Garofalo and Dosso Dossi, the works of Bastianino, Scarsellino and Carlo Bononi, up to Guercino and the sketches by the Bolognese artists Gandolfi and Crespi. The section on masters of other schools includes works by Gentile da Fabriano, Mantegna and Carpaccio.

Highlights

• Salone d'onore and apartment of Virginia de' Medici on the piano nobile of Palazzo dei Diamanti
• Works by Cosmè Tura, Ercole de' Roberti and other masters of 15th-century Ferrara
• Polittico Costabili by Garofalo and Dosso Dossi
• Rooms devoted to Garofalo, Bastianino, Scarsellino and Carlo Bononi
• Paintings by Guercino, Mantegna, Carpaccio and Gentile da Fabriano

Permanent exhibitions

• Salone d'onore e appartamento di Virginia de' Medici – The representative rooms of the piano nobile of Palazzo dei Diamanti, with the 16th-century apartment of Virginia de' Medici, house the Pinacoteca's route.
• Il Polittico Costabili – Room devoted to the large polyptych painted by Garofalo and Dosso Dossi between 1513 and around 1523.
• Pittura ferrarese dal Quattrocento al Settecento – Works by Cosmè Tura, Ercole de' Roberti, Garofalo, Bastianino, Scarsellino, Carlo Bononi and Guercino, with sketches by the Gandolfi and the Crespi.

Founded

1836

Operated by

Musei Nazionali di Ferrara (Ministero della Cultura)

Director

Giorgio Cozzolino

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

Besides under-18s, free admission is granted, among others, to schools, journalists and licensed tourist guides, ICOM members and Ministry of Culture staff; for details, ask at the ticket office. Tickets are bought on site.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ticket office and accessible toilets are on the ground floor, at the accessible entrance; a lift leads to the Pinacoteca rooms, and staff assist visitors with disabilities, who have priority of access. Among the tools for audiences with sensory disabilities, the service charter of the Musei Nazionali di Ferrara cites tactile maps and captions in Braille.

Kids & families

Free admission for under-18s. The museum has no nursery room.

Getting there & parking

From Ferrara station the Pinacoteca is about 20 minutes' walk away, and from the Castello Estense about 5 minutes. By car: A13 Bologna–Padua motorway, exit Ferrara Nord or Ferrara Sud.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Wi-Fi

Bookshop run directly by the museum. The service charter indicates a Wi-Fi area only in the indoor spaces. There is no café or restaurant.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit