Galleria Estense

Established in 1854 by Francesco V d'Este of Austria and moved to its present site of the Palace Museum, (Palazzo dei Musei) in 1894, the Estense Gallery includes four rooms and sixteen exhibition rooms which are dedicated to the remarkable artistic heritage collected by the Dukes of Este since the glorious dominion of Ferrara. Aimed towards aristocratic collectors with many interests, the Estense collection includes a rich collection of paintings, a number of which are valuable and date back to the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. It also includes some works which were dedicated to the Pittura Padana, as well as diverse sculptures in marble and terracotta, a large collection of objects which were part of the sumptuous wardrobe of the Grand Duke, along with several special collections such as drawings, bronzes, majolica, medals, ivories and musical instruments. Among the art works are the Pietà reported by Cima da Conegliano, the Madonna and Child by Correggio, the Portrait of Francesco I d'Este by Velazquez, Il Trittico of El Greco, the marble bust of Francesco I d'Este by Bernini and the Crucifix by Guido Reni.