Street, Ferrara
Via Delle Volte is located in the medieval heart of Ferrara. It is a very peculiar narrow street, with an almost rarefied atmosphere, that preserves the original cobblestone pavement and numerous suspended passages and arches from which it takes its name.
Built between the 13th and 14th centuries, the arches of Via delle Volte unfold along the entire street showing a typical round or ogive shape. Their direction, and consequently that of the entire street, was influenced by the near course of the Po di Volano, a fundamental canal for the city of Ferrara as it connected it directly with the river Po, which was diverted in 1152.
The purpose of the vaults was very simple. Inside them were corridors that allowed merchants and artisans to pass from one side of the street to the other, i.e. from their private homes to the warehouses of the shops or directly to the boats, and vice versa.
Going down the street would have been quite dangerous indeed, as at the time the dark and narrow Via delle Volte was one of the most infamous streets in Ferrara. If during the day merchants intent on their business poured in, at night it became the domain of thieves and prostitutes.
The Ferrarese writer Giorgio Bassani himself recalls the vocation of this street in his most famous novel, 'Il Giardino dei Finzi Contini', in which he recounts the city of Ferrara at the time of Fascism. In a passage dedicated to Via delle Volte he describes it as:
[...] devoid of pavements, the cobblestones full of holes, the street appeared even darker than usual. As we advanced, almost groping, and with the only help, to direct us, of the light coming from the half-open doors of the brothels [...].
The street has recently undergone restoration work, and is now really beautiful. Under its arches, many typical bars and restaurants have sprung up where one can taste both Ferrara specialities and local kosher cuisine. Ferrara is in fact a city historically very closely linked to Jewish culture: a very large Jewish community lived here in the past, which has also bequeathed some influences in the field of gastronomy.
