Stunning ceilings of Ferrara

Detail of the Treasure Room ceiling in Palazzo Costabili (aka, Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro), Ferrara. Fresco by Benvenuto Tisi, called il Garofalo, from 1506. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Italy has no shortage of richly painted ceilings (see previous posts about Florence, Siena, Ravenna, and Vicenza for examples), but these frescoed wonders seem especially concentrated in Ferrara, where several Renaissance-era palazzos have opened their doors as public museums. The result is an almost overwhelming presence of densely decorated interiors that compliment, and even compete with, the eye-level displays.

Mirror reflecting one of many frescoed ceilings in Castello Estense, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Ceiling of the Ducal Chapel in Castello Estense, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Ceiling in Palazzo Costabili (aka, Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro), Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Loggia degli Aranci (1560–70), Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Renaissance-Baroque interior of Chiesa di Santa Maria in Vado, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Castello Estense, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of the Treasure Room ceiling in Palazzo Costabili (aka, Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro), Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Detail of a ceiling in Palazzo Costabili (aka, Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro), Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Vado, Ferrara. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Figures of Ravenna

Ceiling of the Neonian Baptistery, Ravenna, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Architectural fragment with creepy, crouching putto in the Ravenna National Museum. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Two bone figurines in the Ravenna National Museum. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Winged Death in the Basilica San Giovanni Battista, Ravenna, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Architectural fragment with putto in the Ravenna National Museum. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

17th century icon of St. George and the Dragon by Emanuele Tzane from Rethymnon, in the Ravenna National Museum. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Bone objects from the 14th and 15th centuries in the Ravenna National Museum depicting two lovers exchanging gifts, Jason sailing on the sea, and a dragon. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Architectural fragment with wreathed putto in the Ravenna National Museum. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.

Ceiling of the Arian Baptistery, Ravenna, Italy. Photo by Renée DeVoe Mertz.