Palazzo Bevilacqua-Costabili, Ferrara

Palazzo Bevilacqua-Costabili is a Renaissance palace in central Ferrara, with a grand facade decorated by busts of Roman emperors and statues of ancient philosophers set into the windows. The building contains multiple floors with elaborately designed interior spaces that display the wealth and artistic taste of its original owners.

The building was commissioned in 1430 by the Bevilacqua family following a marriage that united two prominent local families. Over the following centuries, the palace served different functions before eventually becoming part of the university.

The palace displays skillfully decorated rooms where frescoes by Francesco Saraceni show how Renaissance artists worked with color and design. These paintings reveal how wealthy families chose to surround themselves with art in their daily spaces.

The building is now part of the University of Ferrara and has undergone extensive restoration to serve as an active educational facility. Visitors should keep in mind that this is a working academic environment with restricted access and specific visiting hours.

Over its history, the building served as a psychiatric hospital, a supermarket, and a movie theater before becoming an educational space. This series of transformations shows how a grand Renaissance structure could be adapted for completely different purposes across different eras.