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| Cycle Tourist Routes |
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The Este "Delizie" along the Sandolo
From Ferrara to Portomaggiore - km 28 ca.
From the Castello Estense in Ferrara, you travel along Corso Giovecca to a large roundabout that you cross over and where you turn right onto a cycle track that runs through the greenery under the walls until it reaches the ancient suburb of San Giorgio where you take Via Comacchio. After a few kilometres you see the turn-off for Aguscello: it is a short and very pleasant run along a tree-lined road that winds through green countryside dotted with high-class farmhouses and houses. In particular, we point out the nineteenth century Villa Mazza, surrounded by its vast grounds.
Continuing along Via Comacchio until Cona, you turn right towards Gualdo and arrive at Voghenza , one of the oldest villages in the province of Ferrara. The chief town of the area in the times of the Roman Empire, it was an important Episcopal seat up until the 7th century. The archaeological area is interesting, being the most substantial in the province and dating back to a period between the 1st and 3rd centuries. It can be seen from the road through a fence.
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Voghenza is right next to Voghiera.
A village that rose up on the banks of the river Sandolo, a delta branch of the Po in medieval times that became silted up in the 1500's, which used to connect the two branches of the Po di Volano and the Primaro. The two villages are only separated by the large, lush grounds of Villa Massari-Ricasoli , now Villa Mazzoni (18th cent.), built as the summer residence for the Apostolic Legates of Ferrara.
Just beyond the last houses in Voghiera the large quadrangle of the Estense Delizia of Belriguardo comes into view, one of the most grandiose buildings of the Italian Renaissance period, begun in 1435 under Niccolò III d'Este. Today it houses the Museo Archeologico.
You then go on past the village of Runco until Gambulaga, dominated by the imposing parish church attributed to the architect Antonio Foschini. In the middle of the countryside, a short distance away, is the Delizia del Verginese, almost a miniature castle, famous for being the habitual residence of Laura Dianti, Duke Alfonso I d'Este's lover.
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From Gambulaga you turn towards Sandolo, where you can visit the church of San Michele, to finally arrive at the large village of Portomaggiore, whose name, together with those of the nearby Portoverrara and Ripapersico, recall the former presence of rivers that have now disappeared, which made navigation possible, where now there is only fertile countryside.
The strategic position of Portomaggiore, in the middle of a dense network of waterways, made it an important village that already had over a thousand inhabitants in the 15th century. There are not may remains of its rich history, many of them being buried underground, but sometimes they emerge, through excavations, both casual and conducted scientifically. The township suffered heavy damage during the Second World War.
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