Not only has Ferrara a largely intact wall, it also has a castle right at its center.
A real castle with a real moat, filled with real water. This is the Castello Estense, named after the family d’Este, the long-time rulers of Ferrara.
Inside of the castle there is a gallery currently showing an exhibition with the works of two famous painters, Giovanni Boldini and Filippo De Pisis, both born in Ferrara. Boldini normally has his own museum in Ferrara, but it is closed since the earthquake in May 2012. Unfortunately that’s only all too common at the moment. You can’t visit the synagogues, you can’t visit certain chuches, all closed for restauration. And of course money is scarce these days.
I’m very interested in paintings, but I have to admit I didn’t know Boldini nor De Pisis before we came to Ferrara. Boldini’s portraits I found nothing but breathtaking, De Pisis pictures, well, … not so much.
Anyway. There’s also a big model of baroque Ferrara inside of the castle. Here is an image showing a part of it, with the Castello to the left and the Cattedrale to the right.