Ferrara is a city built for cycling. The flat Po delta terrain around it, the wide streets of the Renaissance urban plan laid out by the Este dukes in the late 15th century, and the nine kilometres of intact city walls that form a flat, tree-lined circuit above the city have made it Italy's most cycling-oriented city. For a runner in recovery, the cycling infrastructure is irrelevant. What matters is that Ferrara is one of the flattest urban environments in Italy and that its walls - built between 1492 and 1505 - form a circuit that works equally well on foot.
The regional train from Bologna Centrale to Ferrara takes 30 minutes. Trains run roughly every 30 minutes. The fare is approximately €4 to 6. From Bologna Airport, the Marconi Express monorail reaches Bologna Centrale in 7 minutes, making the airport-to-Ferrara journey under 45 minutes.
The City Walls
The Walls of Ferrara are nine kilometres of Renaissance defensive earthworks and brick ramparts, completed between 1492 and 1518, enclosing the northern extension of the city that the Este added to the medieval core - the Addizione Erculea, planned by Biagio Rossetti for Duke Ercole I d'Este and considered the first truly planned Renaissance city expansion in Europe.
The wall circuit is maintained as a public park and walkable for its entire nine-kilometre length. The path runs along the top of the earth ramparts - wide, tree-lined, and at a height of perhaps 6 to 8 metres above the surrounding countryside - giving a continuous view over the Po delta plain to the north and the city rooftops to the south. The surface is compacted earth and gravel. The full circuit takes approximately two hours at slow walking pace.
This is the post-marathon programme. Nine kilometres of level path, trees, open sky, and the sound of no cars.
The Historic Centre
The Castello Estense (Este Castle, begun 1385) dominates the city centre - a moated, four-towered medieval fortress that the Este used as their residence from the 14th century. It is surrounded by its original moat; the drawbridge is the main entrance. The interior (entry approximately €10) contains the dungeons where Parisina Malatesta and her stepson Ugo were executed in 1425 on the orders of Duke Nicolo III after their affair was discovered - a story that inspired Lord Byron, among others.
The Palazzo dei Diamanti - named for the 8,500 marble blocks cut in diamond-point relief that cover its facade - houses the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Ferrara, the main gallery for Este court paintings. Entry approximately €8. The building is 15th century; the interior is entirely flat.
The Corso Ercole I d'Este - a dead-straight boulevard running north from the Este castle to the city walls - is the spine of the planned city. Walking its length (approximately 800 metres) gives the full effect of what Rossetti achieved: a street wide enough that the palaces on either side do not overshadow it, lined with gardens, ending at the walls.
Where to Eat
Osteria degli Angeli on Via delle Volte is the traditional Ferrara kitchen - cappellacci di zucca (large pasta parcels filled with pumpkin and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the dish specific to Ferrara) and salama da sugo (a spiced cured sausage cooked for hours in the traditional preparation) with the local sparkling Fortana wine from the Po delta.
Getting Back
Regional trains from Ferrara to Bologna Centrale run every 30 minutes. The Marconi Express monorail from Bologna Centrale to Bologna Airport (BLQ) takes 7 minutes.