Ferrara, an important 15th-century bath discovered at Palazzo dei Diamanti

In Ferrara, ongoing restoration work at the Palazzo dei Diamanti has unearthed a 15th-century room identified as the bathroom of the Este residence: inside, archaeologists, working on the site of a new strand of redevelopment work on the building after the earthquake that struck Emilia in 2012, have identified, by digging low to the left of the historic entrance, a basin with a seat, backrest and holes for water. And in Ferrara there is already talk of the. Duke’s “sauna.” The room, the restoration of which has already begun, has been dated to the late 15th century.

“We expected this find,” explains Ferrara’s archaeologist in charge of protection, Chiara Guarnieri. “Following the investigations we carried out in recent months, in fact, we had hypothesized the presence of ancient ’baths’ in this wing of the Palazzo Diamanti. It is a well-preserved marble basin that was used for ablutions. Also in many sources there is mention of the Este’s taste for bathing. Other examples, but not of the artistic level of the one found at the palazzo dei Diamanti, can be found at casa Romei and palazzo Tassoni. Beyond Ferrara’s borders, and more generally, works of this kind can be found at the Ducal Palace in Urbino and also in Florence.”

“Ferrara and the Palazzo dei Diamanti never cease to show the richness of its past,” stresses Mayor Alan Fabbri. “The discovery of the Duke’s sauna, in addition to its historical and artistic value, offers new details about the daily life of the Este period and represents a new element that we are now offering to the historical reconstruction and attention of professors, researchers, scholars, but also of the general public, who will be able to admire it as soon as the works are finished, at the end of summer 2022. The inauguration planned for September next year, therefore, in addition to the exhibition of madness already announced by the president of Ferrara Arte Vittorio Sgarbi and councillor Marco Gulinelli, whom I thank, will also have this additional element of novelty, of great significance. Centuries later, the Este family continues to offer Ferrara their contribution of art and beauty.”

In fact, the City Council intends to enhance this environment by opening it to the public: by September 2022 there will probably also be a dedicated tour.

Ferrara, an important 15th-century bath discovered at Palazzo dei Diamanti

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