Gate of the Angels

The gate of the last Duke of Ferrara

One of the historical monuments and symbol of Ferrara, Gate of the Angels is located along the northern walls of the city. Once built as a watchtower, the Gate today remains a precious testimony to the Renaissance splendour of the city of Romagna.

The name of the gate comes from the ancient fifteenth-century toponym of Corso Ercole I d'Este, once called Via degli Angeli due to the presence of the church, no longer in existence, dedicated to St Mary of the Angels.

The construction of the door is part of the urban project of the Herculean Addition, commissioned by Ercole I d'Este in 1492, and completed by the architect Biagio Rossetti. According to tradition, in 1598 Cesare d'Este, the last Duke of Ferrara, left the Gate of the Angels, before the city was devolved to the Papal State. Restoration work in the 1980s allowed for the recovery of the sixteenth-century appearance of the monument, restoring access to the top of the tower, from which you can get a 360° view of the city, the walls of the Angels and the G. Bassani Urban Park.