Palazzo dei Diamanti, City palace in Ferrara, Italy
Palazzo dei Diamanti is a Renaissance palace in Ferrara with a white marble facade made of over eight thousand carved blocks. The structure includes a central courtyard and two stories that now house exhibition spaces and a painting collection.
Duke Ercole I d'Este commissioned Biagio Rossetti in 1492 to design the palace as part of a northern city expansion. Construction was completed in the early 16th century, and it remained in the Este family until the 19th century.
The name comes from the diamond-shaped marble stones distributed across the entire outer surface, forming a geometric texture. This design choice made the building a landmark for walkers moving through the streets of the northern quarter.
The building sits at the intersection of two wide streets and is within walking distance from most places in the old town. The entrances are at ground level, and information materials are available on the ground floor.
Each of the more than eight thousand five hundred marble blocks was cut at a different angle so that light reflects differently throughout the day. This technique creates shifting shadow patterns on the surface depending on where the sun stands.
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