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FERRARA FERRARI 153 and other religious reformers. Guarini, Boiar- do, Ariosto, and Tasso were among the most illustrious ornaments of its court. The city had in its most prosperous period about 100,- 000 inhabitants. It still retains many ves- tiges of its former splendor. The churches contain fine works of art, especially that of the Oampo Santo, which occupies the site of the old Certosa convent. The cathedral of St. Paul was consecrated in 1135, and contains the tomb of Urban III. Santa Maria del Vado is the oldest church, but has been entirely altered by modern restoration. That of San Francesco is famous for its echo, which has 16 reverberations. Ariosto was buried in the church of San Benedetto, but in 1801 his re- mains were removed to the public library. Castle of Ferrara. The finest of the palaces of Ferrara are the Diamond palace, or Villa Ercole, and the palazzo del Magistro, where the accademia Ariostea holds its sittings. In the hospital of Santa Anna a small room on the ground floor is still shown in which Tasso is said to have lu'eii confined as a lunatic for many years by Alfonso II., but the identity of this room with his place of confinement is now very generally disbelieved ; and near the city is the villa Bel Biguardo, where the poet enjoyed the society of Eleonora of Este. The university of Fer- rara was founded in 1321, renovated in 1402, closed in 1797, and reopened in 1824. It was again closed during the revolutionary troubles of 1848-'9, and reopened Nov. 1, 1850, after the reestablishment of the papal authority. It is chiefly renowned as a school of jurispru- dence and medicine, and is attended by 200 to 300 students. It contains a collection of an- tiquities, a library of 80,000 volumes and 900 MSS., comprising some of Guarini, Ariosto, and Tasso, and many valuable editions of the 15th and 16th centuries. Ferrara possesses one of the finest and largest theatres of Italy, a botanical garden, and many charitable in- stitutions and convents. In the centre of the city is a castle flanked with towers and sur- rounded by wet ditches, which was formerly the palace of the dukes. The population is chiefly collected in the vicinity of this castle, and but thinly scattered elsewhere. The city is enclosed with walls and defended on the W. side by the citadel. The Austrians took pos- session of the whole city in August, 1847, but the troops were withdrawn in December, and the Austrian occupation remained confined to the citadel until July 14, 1848, when the city was again seized by Prince Liechtenstein. On Feb. 18, 1849, it was occupied for a short time by Gen. Haynau, who imposed upon the in- habitants a contribution of 200,000 scudi. In June, 1859, after the battle of Magenta, the Austrian forces withdrew from the citadel, and it was destroyed. FERRARI, Gandenzio, a painter of the Milan- ese school, born at Valduggia in 1484, died in Milan in 1550. His principal works are illus- trative of the story of creation and of the early events of Christianity, and are found in the gal- leries and churches of Lombardy. He was also a sculptor, architect, mathematician, and poet. FERRARI, Giuseppe, an Italian philosopher and historian, born in Milan about 1811. In 1831 he graduated as a doctor of law in the university of Pavia, but devoted himself to literature and philosophy, and became a disci- ple of Romagnosi. In 1835 appeared his com- plete edition of the works of Vico, reprinted in 1853, in Milan, in the collection of Italian classics. In 1837 he went to France, and pub- lished in 1839 Vico et Vltalie. In 1840 he be- came professor of philosophy at the college of Rochefort, and afterward at Strasburg, but soon lost his office on account of his radical- ism. In 1847 he published Essai sur le prin- cipe et les limites de la philosophic de Vhis- toire, his most important work. After the revolution of Feb. 24, 1848, he was reinstated in his chair at Strasburg, but the dislike of the French clergy followed him there, and to Bourges, whither he removed at the end of that year, and they eventually succeeded in procuring his dismissal (June 13, 1849). In 1859 he returned to Italy and became a mem- ber of parliament, and successively professor in Turin, Milan, and Florence. He is the fore- most Italian representative of positivism, and attempts a philosophical reconstruction of the political development of nations, founded ex- clusively upon experience and induction. His