PALAZZO DEI MUSEI

This palace, which originally had the function of housing the needy, now houses the main museums of the city. Built in 1753, it houses the Galleria Estense and the Estense Library, as well as the Civic Museums, the Museo Lapidario Romano and the Museo Lapidario Estense.

Located on the fourth floor, the Galleria Estense exhibits a very rich collection of works collected by the Este family. The family took it with them to Modena when they were forced to leave Ferrara in 1598. The gallery offers an interesting panorama of the artistic production of the Emilian and Venetian schools from the ^15th to the ^18th century. The visit begins with a Madonna with St. John and St. Gregory by Guercino, restored after being stolen in 2014 and recovered in Morocco in 2017. We then admire Cosmè Tura's Saint Anthony of Padua, a triptych by El Greco, a Portrait of Francis ^I of Este by Velázquez, fourteen episodes from Ovid's Metamorphoses by Tintoretto, canvases by Veronese. There are also several sculptures, including a marble bust of Francesco ^I d'Este, a masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and highly refined terracotta sculptures of Virgins with Child.

On the third floor, the Musei civici include sections on archaeology, ethnology and art.

The Biblioteca Estense, on the second floor, is one of the richest in Italy and contains Italian illuminated books, including the famous ^15th century Bible of Borso d'Este.

Lapidary collections on the first floor.