Sala Estense

Sala Estense is a historic theatre and former cinema located in the historic centre of Ferrara, Italy, in Piazza del Municipio, next to the Scalone d'Onore of the Town Hall. Its origins trace back to 1476–1480, when Ercole I d'Este commissioned it as a Ducal Chapel in honour of the Madonna and dedicated it to his wife Eleonora d'Aragona. Over the centuries, the building served as a church, a theatre, and a cinema before becoming a municipal cultural venue. Today, it is owned by the Comune di Ferrara and hosts various cultural events, concerts, and performances, including an annual festival of Ferrarese dialect theatre organised by the Compagnia Straferrara. The hall is characterised by its rectangular plan with a stalls area and a single gallery, featuring slender fluted columns with ornate capitals. The exterior retains statues of Ferrara's patron saints, San Giorgio and San Maurelio, created between 1833 and 1835. The Sala Estense and the adjacent piazzetta have been used as filming locations for movies such as 'La lunga notte del '43' and 'Al di là delle nuvole'.

The Sala Estense is a historic theatre and former cinema located in the historic centre of Ferrara, Italy, in Piazza del Municipio, next to the Scalone d'Onore of the Town Hall. Its construction was commissioned by Ercole I d'Este, who had it built between 1476 and 1480 as a Ducal Chapel in honour of the Madonna and dedicated it to his wife Eleonora d'Aragona, placing the bodies of the Este family there before burial. In the 16th century, Alfonso II d'Este had it enlarged as a hall church with three altars. When Ferrara came under the Papal States, it was granted to the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit, officiated until 1616, and later deconsecrated. In the mid-17th century, to replace the Gran Sala delle Commedie destroyed by a fire just before Carnival, architects Carlo Pasetti and Alberto Gnoli were commissioned to modify the chapel, which was inaugurated as a theatre with the comedy 'La casa con due porte dificilmente si guarda' on 9 January 1660. Subsequent modifications reserved the stalls entirely for the public, built more boxes, a changing scene, and adequate theatrical machinery; known as Teatro in Cortile, its use as a theatre ended and it was restored as Chiesa Nuova in 1693, remodelled in Baroque style and dedicated to San Maurelio, thanks also to its purchase by the Bentivoglio marquises and the recent restoration of worship by Cardinal Legate Imperiali, adorned externally with a triangular pediment and a portal decorated with two columns, made of materials of various origins: from the altar of San Benedetto and a chimney of the Castle, which Sesto Boari, during works begun in the second decade of the 20th century, 'did not want to touch'. Above the portal, an epigraph was placed, still visible today. In 1792 it was suppressed due to the French occupation and reopened in 1802, then closed again and restored in 1850, when the vault was painted by Giuseppe Tamarozzi with the intervention of Gregorio Boari for the figures. The main altar was redefined in the same year with scagliola works by the Swiss Agostino Canturio on a design by Prof. Antonio Neri. Also in scagliola, two statues by Gaetano Davia, while the altarpiece with the Virgin Mary on clouds with the four patron saints of Ferrara (George, Maurelio, Rocco, and Philip) was painted by Girolamo Domenichini, with stuccoes by Filippo Becci (known as Zambologna); the one that those entering saw to the left of the altar was by the Bolognese Giuseppe Santi, and to the right a San Carlo by the Bolognese Carlo Mazza. Closed and deconsecrated again in 1893, it was used as a warehouse and then remodelled in 1915 when the Municipality rented it to private citizen Ermanno Carletti, who had the idea of 'transforming the large space of the former church into a hall for concerts, conferences, charity parties and, above all, film screenings', an ambitious project started by engineer Sesto Boari, whose layout, realised in about a year, is still mostly visible. Boari himself established the Ditta ing. Sesto Boari & C. together with Gaetano Lattuga, Emilio Arlotti, and Gaetano Carletti, entrusting calculations to external firms and designing the acoustic arrangements and the sound box beneath the floor, still existing, to which was added the project for transforming the façade, submitted by Carlo Carini but never realised. From the evening of Saturday 17 February 1917, it was inaugurated under the name Sala Estense, which has remained until today except for the interlude in the 1930s when it was called Cinematografo reale. During works undertaken in the 1920s, the last traces of the sacred layout were lost outside as well, with the demolition of the external pediment. Simultaneously, a radical recovery and reconstruction effort known as the Addizione novecentista began in the city, promoted by Italo Balbo and his closest collaborators, such as podestà Renzo Ravenna and journalist Nello Quilici. In those same years, the façade of the nearby Palazzo Municipale with the annexed Torre della Vittoria was completely redone in neo-medieval style. From the 1960s and in subsequent decades, the Municipality, still the owner today, carried out various structural adjustments. The Sala Estense and the piazzetta Municipale have been used in various film productions, such as 'La lunga notte del '43' or the more recent 'Al di là delle nuvole'. Currently, the Sala Estense hosts various cultural events, concerts, and events, such as the annual Ferrarese dialect theatre festival organised by the Compagnia Straferrara.

• 1930

  Known as Cinematografo reale during the 1930s.

• 1920

  External pediment demolished during works in the 1920s.

• 1917

  Inaugurated as Sala Estense on the evening of Saturday 17 February.

• 1915

  Rented by the Municipality to Ermanno Carletti for transformation into a concert and cinema hall.

• 1893

  Closed and deconsecrated again; used as a warehouse.

• 1850

  Closed again and restored; vault painted by Giuseppe Tamarozzi.

• 1802

  Reopened.

• 1792

  Suppressed due to French occupation.

• 1693

  Restored as Chiesa Nuova, remodelled in Baroque style and dedicated to San Maurelio.

• 1660

  Inaugurated as a theatre with the comedy 'La casa con due porte dificilmente si guarda' on 9 January.

• 1480

  Construction completed.

• 1476

  Construction begins as a Ducal Chapel commissioned by Ercole I d'Este.

Historic municipal theatre and cultural venue in the heart of Ferrara.

• Theatre performances

• Concerts

• Cultural events

• Film screenings (historically)

1. 1Comune di Ferraraservizi.comune.ferrara.it
2. 2Sala Estense - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Sala Estense - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org