Ferrara, Italy

I went to Ferrara, Italy in May to present at the From Planck to the Future of CMB conference. It was so beautiful and I had the time of my life exploring, eating pizza, pasta, and of course gelato.

Conference

I was there for a conference, presenting on behalf of my research collaboration SPIDER. The conference was hosted by the University of Ferrara in the law building. The walls were covered by frescoes, (but honestly not many historic places in Italy aren't.) I recognized the eagles in the frescoes on the wall as the symbol of the powerful and wealthy Este family that ruled the region around Ferrara for hundreds of years, that was neat. The conference was all about future prospects in cosmology experiments with having the Planck satellite data as a legacy. I presented on the second to last day and absolutely had to wear my star shoes. I got to announce that SPIDER-2 is headed to Antarctica this winter for a flight opportunity, so that was exciting news to share after a few years of delays.

Exploring

The day I arrived and checked in to my hotel, I walked about 5.5 km around town because I wanted to stay awake until evening. I explored to get a feel for the town, and scoping out restaurants to try later. Ferrara is a very old town, and has some incredible architecture dating back to the medieval periods...but I guess this also true for most of Italy. One of places I went on my walk was the Via delle Volte, an alleyway of the historic Jewish ghetto known for its vaulted archways.

Ferrara's skyline is defined by the Castello Estense in the middle of town with a full moat surrounding it. I also I did a self guided tour of the castle on the Sunday before the conference started. I paid the extra two euros to climb up to the tower balcony for an amazing view of the city from above.

One of my favorite places in town to stop by was the Rotonda Foschini, the ellipse-shaped courtyard of the communal theater/opera house.

Another favorite building in town, I walked past everyday en route to the conference was the Palazzo Diamanti (diamond palace). Also a very old building with amazing frescoes on the interior that is now converted into an art museum. The exterior is just as fabulous with the pyramid shaped bricks that create a neat optical illusion.

One afternoon I explored a local cemetery and church grounds. I was amazed by the extravagance and architecture.

Some other really beautiful views around town.

Culture

The Palio di Ferrara, a city festival, took place in the weeks I was visiting. I caught some of the flag throwing competitions, but skipped the famous horse races in order to visit Bologna. Each section of the city has their own flag and group of competitors. People were decked out in their neighborhood colors and cheering on their teams. It was so, so hot and everyone stuck to the shade. There was a little drum corp and one person that was the flag thrower.

Food (cibo)

My first meal in Italy was this Capricciosa pizza from a place near my hotel. I ate almost the entire thing after my very long travel day and being awake most of my flight thanks to a lovely toddler screaming and kicking my seat all night! I picked this place because it was one of the few places open at 3 pm when I had checked into my hotel and cleaned up, but it was so good I took friends back a few days later. It was on a side street that ran behind the main Cathedral and not too far from my hotel.

After walking all over town, I was still overwhelmed by all the restaurant options, and hadn't downloaded the town map on Google Maps app yet, so I played it safe and went back to the same street I had for lunch to a place called Enoteca Al Brindisi. The place had caught my eye earlier but didn't open until dinner. I had the best caprese crostini ever. The tomatoes tasted fresh out of a garden. And it turns out Enoteca Al Brindisi is the oldest operating tavern on earth dating back to the 1400s, with the likes of Nicolaus Copernicus having lived in the accommodations above the restaurant when he briefly attended the University of Ferrara in 1503. So I came back here with friends too!

Lunch was catered every day at the conference and was so so good. They had a cute flat bread every day in a different animal shape. I didn't realize what they were meant to be used for until my last day traveling in Bologna where I saw cafes selling small prosciutto sandwiches with little flat breads. It all made sense in the end.

Ferrara is known for their pumpkin filled cappellacci, pasticcio di maccheroni (macaroni pie), coppia bread, and salama da sugo. All very rich, hearty foods.

Gelato

Ice cream deserves it's own section on this blog. Before I left Illinois I had already researched the gelato shops in Ferrara and added them to my lists of places to go. I was in heaven. I had gelato every day.

My very first day I had a tasty mango gelato while on my 5 km walk around town. On Sunday I think I had gelato twice at La Romana, a shop just around the corner from my hotel. Once for me, and a second time to celebrate my brother's birthday for him. Nice of me right?

My favorite gelato from La Romana was an blueberry, elderberry, and lemon flavor. I was so good I ordered it 2, maybe three times.

If you know me, then you'll know the caterers at the conference had all of my love and appreciation because they served 3-4 flavors of gelato every afternoon at coffee break.