The initial nucleus consisted of some pieces already preserved in the Ducal Palace of Modena, acquired by the d'Estes from other antique collections or as excavation finds from the duchy territories of Brescello and Novellara.
Sheet music dating from the Renaissance, evangelical texts written in Greek Unical font, various French manuscripts from the 14th century, a family tree of the Byzantine theologian Joannes Zonaras, a Persian picture book of Romeo and Juliet by Nizami (Layla and Manjun) as well as several other psalters, encyclopaedias and maps of a regal, political and theological nature, each exclusive to the European dukes and duchesses of Emilia-Romagna, may be consulted, some of which require official permission.
[4] The Pinacotecta Nazionale is the national art gallery of Ferrara, also located in the Emilia-Romagna region on the piano nobile (or first floor) of Biagio Rossetti's Renaissance jewel, the Palazzo dei Diamanti.
The gallery is formed as much around notable northern Italian painters as it is around the exquisite interior decoration of the palace itself, together with remnants of frescoes from local churches and later acquisitions from the Sacrati Strozzi collection.
[5] Not to be confused with the Civic Museum on the lower floor, hosting temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 1992, the Pinacoteca houses an altogether more historic collection of paintings and sculptures by artists of the Ferrarese school dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century.
The Pinacoteca, unlike the Galleria Estense, focuses more specifically on artistic production during the earlier half of the Estensi history, from their promotion as dukes of Ferrara in 1296 to their forced relocation to Modena in 1598.
It's stuccoed apartments currently host one of Gallerie's many on-going projects to marry the old with the new: minimalist pieces from the renowned Panza collection now hang in the frames previously filled by the duke's favourite contemporary paintings.