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Chiostro Sant’Anna - Ferrara
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Accommodates 3 — 2 Bedrooms
— 1 Bath
What we have here is a truly delightful air-conditioned flat right in the center of historic Ferrara, one of Italy’s nicest medium-sized art cities, an ideal center for touring—especially by train, Ferrara being a Eurostar/Intercity train stop—places like Verona, Brescia, Padova, Venice, Mantova, Ravenna, Bologna, Vicenza, and dozens of places in between. You can be on Venice’s Grand Canal in little over an hour from here!
But most of all, our Chiostro Sant’Anna is ideal for truly immersing oneself in the daily life of an authentic, non-touristy yet immensely cosmopolitan Italian university town. From the flat you can walk to absolutely everything in Ferrara, although there are buses virtually at one’s doorstep, not to mention the fact that nearly everyone in Ferrara seems to get about by bike. It’s perfect even for old fogies like us, as the city’s terrain is completely flat.
Often, rental accommodations in smaller Italian cities are terribly noisy. That’s the price you pay to be central. But as its name suggests—“chiostro” in Italian means “cloister”—the Chiostro Sant’Anna flat is absolutely silent. It’s located up one flight (and yes, there is an elevator for less-able guests) above and overlooking the beautifully restored cloister arcade. The atmosphere is marvelous even before you approach the building entrance, with the incredible color of Ferrara’s mostly brick buildings. We’re no longer in typical Italian earthquake country here.
The flat is simply described: You enter directly into a spacious, airy, luminous open-plan living/dining/kitchen with high ceilings, parquet floors, good seating, fireplace, flat-screen LCD TV, and stereo/CD player. The kitchen has stovetop, oven, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, microwave, and good cooking equipment. Dining table seats 6 comfortably. The sofa opens up into a comfortable sofabed. Down the way are the flat’s two bedrooms, one with an indivisible king-size bed and huge wardrobe, the other a good-sized single. Along the way is a brand-new bathroom with big shower stall (no tub) and the flat’s washing machine. The feeling throughout is clean and modern, light and airy.
Three special features: (i) The single bedroom contains a desk with a laptop computer and high-speed internet connection for guests’ use. There is no phone. This is a situation easily addressed either by bringing your own multi-band portable phone, or by bringing your own microphone-equipped headphones and making calls on the computer via a service like Skype. (ii) A garage space is at the disposal of guests, at a small additional cost. (iii) Two bikes are available for use as well.
Ferrara is just a wonderful town, with an imposing castle, lovely cathedral, charming atmosphere, characterful neighborhoods, excellent restaurants, and good rail connections to everywhere. Nightlife is quiet but includes opera, jazz, cinema, winebars, and pubs. The city is connected to a long-distance bicycle track along the Po.
Ferrara was (and still is) an important center of Italian Jewish life, immortalized in de Sica’s heartbreaking film masterpiece, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, based on the novel by Giorgio Bassani, many of whose other works (most translated into English) are set in the milieu of Ferrara’s Jewish community.
Ferrara has several excellent art museums, and first-class exhibitions. For example, in 2007 we saw a first-class show on the art of Cosmé Tura, Ferrara’s greatest Renaissance master, and his circle. Tura was a truly bizarre artist, and to see so many of his few but widely scattered works gathered together into one venue was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The following year, there was a major retrospective of the work of Joan Miró as well as a big show on “Turner and Italy”, in collaboration, respectively, with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Madrid and the National Museum of Scotland. So we’re talking more than the usual provincial stuff here. Check the website of Ferrara’s tourist office for up-to-the-minute news on cultural events.
Our first reaction when we visited the Chiostro Sant’Anna on a cold December day? We want to stay here ourselves some day soon. We’re planning on it.
| Rates: |
1,050 euros – 1 week
950 euros/week – 2 weeks
870 euros/week – 3 weeks |
Minimum
stay: |
1 week, with extra days pro-rated |
| Arrival: |
Any day of the week, preferably not Sunday |
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Extras:
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None
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