L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017 F errara: oh, the tragedy of having overlooked this beauty of an Ital- ian city for so many years! But we're in the good company of a whole lot of other folks, it seems, with their heads in the Italian sand. Thankfully, this egregious error was corrected on a trip my hus- band and I shared recently. Strategically located on the expansive Po River delta with the Adriatic Sea to the east, Fer- rara boasts remarkable historic importance in shaping modern western life; however, her acco- lades s eem to have faded to minor trivia…at least when it comes to the "must see" Italian cities touted by most tourism sites. In Ferrara, there are bicycles. Lots and lots of bicycles. Why, the city claims more bikes per capita than any other European city, taking second place only to Copenhagen! Biciclette (bicycles) are easy to come by: practically every hotel in Ferrara offers a loaner as part of the package, so we readied ourselves, excited about an evening of exploration by bike. The hotel des k clerk assigned our metal steeds and, within minutes, Mario, our Ital- ian friend, arrived announcing hims elf w ith the br iiiiing- brrrring of a bike bell. Andiamo…we were off! Rounding a corner, w e entered the vas t ZTL ( Z ona Traffico Limitato) that makes up much of Ferrara's heart. Shops, cafés, bars and restaurants were brimming with lively patrons on this late afternoon, their passion- ate chatter w afting into the street. An unending battalion of people on bikes zipped and zagged through the foot traffic. Renaissance Ferrara Mario guided us down the opulent Renaissance-era streets that were prudently laid out dur- ing the 15 th to 17 th century reign of the Estes family, a clan whose power was as impressive as that of the Medici. One of only a few Italian cities not plot- ted Roman-style, the practical layout of Ferrara earned posthu- mous UNESCO recognition in 1995. Collectively, the Estes had quite a penchant for mus ic, architecture, urban growth, and land reclamation, which brought the city on level playing field with Florence and other major urban centers of the time. As we popped out of the cov- ered pathway, the impressive Castello Estense rose like a for- tified City of Oz from a field of cobbled street – grand, breath- taking and somewhat imposing as it seemed to take over the low-lit sky above us. Sitting grandiose and encircled by a large moat – even though the palazzo is dead-center in Ferrara – the intended aw e-factor remains present to this day. Several rounds were made through the various paths in and about the palace, over the moat, and back out onto the main corso. Mario waved us on – there was miles yet to cover. Medieval Ferrara Like a city telling two tales, an entirely different Ferrara was to be found just across, the road. D eparting the w ide-open Renaissance splendor, we were suddenly bumping and bouncing over much narrower, black-cob- bled s treets . Low vaults of ancient brickwork spanned like troll-size bridges over our heads, bracing and steadying age-old buildings that silently loomed to our right and left. It was as if we'd veered into an alternate universe, a place caught in the shift of eras. The late day light lent a mysterious air as we left s mooth brick for cobbled paths. As we rounded a corner, the PAULA REYNOLDS Cycling in Ferrara - Emilia Romagna's city of bicycles shadows dissolved as the light of cafés, bars and shops warmed the age-worn pavement and life seemed to once again be present around us. I was feeling a little hungry and hoping maybe we'd pull alongside one of the open doors where all kinds of deli- cious smells were calling my name. But on we rode, Mario bring- ing various points of interest to our attention: we were having an incredible time. There's some- thing freeing about being on an adventure atop a bike; I think it reignites a childlike joy no mat- ter where you ride. But riding through this incredible Italian town upped the joy factor many- fold! And More… We s egued from the medieval neighborhood onto a normal looking urban street. Mario waved us to follow him, reminding us to be mindful of cars, the ZTL now behind us. As suddenly as the era had seemed to change earlier, now the entire sense of place was changing. Down one street and onto a dirt path, we merged into a large green space, treed and lined with shrubs and plants. Buildings were quickly replaced with more park-like s pace as w e rode along. It was as if we were sud- denly transported to the country- side, far away from any large city. A s it turns out, the great wealth of the Renaissance period in F errara equated to many palazzi to house the affluent citi- zenry. And of course, if you live that regally, you'd better have majestic gardens to go with it! How nice that many remain pre- served but available for bike and pedestrian pathways. We stopped for a brief rest as M ario explained a bit more about our surroundings, then forewarned us of some brief uphill pedaling ahead. S ure enough, w e w ere upon the ancient walls…and uphill it was! The fortified walls of Ferrara are much like thos e of Lucca – mostly intact with a circumfer- ence of about six miles and now a fantastic part of the city's charm. We rode for a time, enjoying the elevated view until dark was upon us. And now…I was really hungry! The Reward Being a consummate host and friend, Mario had just the place picked out for our Fer- rarese-style dinner – one of the oldest trattorias serving local favorites. His wife Alda joined us, and the feast began. One of the pure joys of din- ing in Italy is the focus on cours- es, savoring and enjoying each one, without any rush. We start- ed this joyful experience with a huge platter of local affettati misti, cured meats. Appetites successfully whetted, we moved on to a primo of mouthwatering pumpkin-filled tortelli called Cappellacci di Zucca Ferraresi. Oh santo cielo…it was heaven- ly! Shaped like Renaissance-era peasant hats, tradition calls for a sauce bath of butter and sage or a ragù style meat sauce over these divine morsels. We chose the latter: no regrets! The meal w as rounded out w ith the famous, if not very pretty, Sala- ma da Sugo – Ferrara's heavily spiced ground meat product that takes about 367 days to be plate- ready. Accompanied by another Ferranese speciality known as Coppia Farnese, a curious look- ing X-shaped bread, we feasted until we could hold no more. One More Ride The ride back to our hotel was another twenty minutes or so of glorious pedaling through neighborhoods, business dis- tricts, and the historic center. How special to be a part of this unique moment under the starry Emilia-Romagna sky –- all sens- es satiated, sharing contented conversation and laughter, and pedaling along in the company of fine Ferrarese friends. Ferrara is a little known Italian beauty worth exploring... on a bike ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

• Cover