Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
same price (
115) even if you end up in one of the less-grand rooms—though
even those are gracious and large, with a nice mix of contemporary furnishings
and reproduction Venetian antiques. There's a free Internet terminal, and free
bikes for guest use.
Dining for All Tastes
The walls and Ferrara's other green spaces are ideal for a
picnic.
Buy what you
need on narrow brick Via Cortevecchia, near the cathedral, lined with
salumerie,
cheese shops, and bakeries. The nearby Mercato Comunale, at the corner of Via
Santo Stefano and Via del Mercato, is crowded with food stalls open Monday to
Saturday 7:30am to 1pm (Fri also 3:30-7:30pm). At Negozio Moccia, Via degli
Spadari, 9, you can indulge in a chunk of
panpeteto,
Ferrara's hallmark chocolate-
covered fruitcake.
€
(Via Adelardi, 11;
%
0532-209142; www.albrindisi.
com; closed Mon and July 10-Aug 10)
claims to be the oldest wine bar in the
world (established 1435), with a roster of famous artists (Titian, Cellini) and
poets (Tasso, Ariosto) who used to get sloshed here. It serves a staggering selection
of wines by the glass (from
€
2.50) and a wonderful selection of panini and other
light fare. I like the
torte salate,
a selection of flatbread wedges topped with an
assortment of vegetables (
€
6). The
cappellaci di zucca
(pumpkin ravioli;
€
7.50)
is also sublime. When the weather is nice, you can sit at boothlike tables on a lit-
tle lane facing a flank of the Duomo.
55
€
-
€€
Al Brindisi
€
-
€€
Dozens of beers and an extensive selection of local wines are available at
the cozy
Antica Osteria Al Postiglione
(Vicolo Chiuso del Teatro, 4;
%
0532-
241509)
wine bar/
osteria
on a narrow lane off Piazza Castello. You can also eat
very well. The family members who cook and wait tables make the pastas fresh
each day, and pride themselves on such simple home-cooked dishes as grilled
sal-
siccia
(sweet sausages),
mozzarella al forno
(baked mozzarella), and
pasta e fagioli
(a substantial soup of beans and pasta)—all for
5
7. Come here for lunch
for a bargain bonanza of fixed-price menus ranging from
€
8.50 (
primo
or
secondo,
side dish, and drink) to
€
6 to
€
€
20 (two courses, side dish, dessert, drinks, coffee).
€€
Just south of the city walls, a block from the traditional market square,
Antica Trattoria Volano
(Viale Volano, 20;
%
0532-761421; www.antica
trattoriavolano.com; closed Fri)
is a roadside trattoria that has been satisfying
hungry travelers since the 1700s. The decor is unassuming (and a tad staid), and
the traffic noise detracts, but the cooking is superb. The menu is a veritable study
in traditional Ferrara specialties. To sample the best of them all, order a
55
9
tris di
primi:
a trio of
cappellaci di zucca
(squash-stuffed ravioli),
taglioline al prosciutto,
and
tortelloni di ricotta.
Or warm yourself up with their delicious
cappelletti in
brodo
(pasta soup;
€
7). Stay in the sampler category with the
misto di bolliti
(a
selection of hand-carved boiled meats;
€
12), or try the ultratraditional
salama da
sugo
(salty salami diced, cooked in red wine and cognac, and dolloped over
mashed potatoes;
€
€
10).
5
€€
-
€€€
(Corso Ercole I
d'Este, 92, at Vicolo Parchetto;
%
0532-205187; closed Sun dinner and Mon)
is
One of the pleasures of dining at
La Provvidenza
