Couples can hold a civil ceremony for up to 35 seated guests in the small church of the Delizia Estense del Verginese, then a reception for up to 100 guests in the Vinaia del Sapere or the Foresteria, each hired with its own outdoor area. The Delizia is a former country residence of the Este family at Gambulaga, in the municipality of Portomaggiore, in the province of Ferrara. Weddings are booked through AmaParco, the network of parks and museums in Emilia-Romagna that runs the site.
Weddings and receptions
The wedding offer is built from three spaces. The chiesetta, a small church inside the complex, hosts the civil rite. For the reception you choose between the Vinaia del Sapere, which spreads the party over three floors, and the Foresteria, a ground-floor venue that opens onto the long portico above the garden. Either one comes with its adjoining outdoor area, and the chiesetta can be combined with either reception venue. Packages can also be tailored to the couple.
The couple has the use of every space they book. The venue is usually available the day before the wedding for setting up and the day after for clearing and cleaning, by agreement with the managing body. When the outdoor areas are used, setup and clearing must be done on the same day. Fire in any form is forbidden on site, sky lanterns included, which matters when you plan candles, fireworks or a lantern release.
Rooms and capacities
The chiesetta seats up to 35 guests for the ceremony. The Vinaia del Sapere is a former drying house beside the castle, recently restored, which also hosts exhibitions, cultural meetings and concerts; it takes up to 100 guests for a reception. The Foresteria, on one level along the portico, also takes up to 100. Inside the main building, a large hall is used for period-style festivities in the public program, and the ground-floor rooms hold the archaeological museum. Outdoors, the Brolo garden and the portico frame photographs and drinks.
History and setting
The Verginese is one of the Delizie Estensi, the leisure residences of the d'Este family, and it is recognized by UNESCO as part of that World Heritage ensemble. Alfonso I d'Este gave it to Laura Dianti. The building reads as a small country castle with battlements, and a dovecote, the Torre colombaia, closes the far end of the garden; it served as a lookout and housed messenger pigeons.
The Brolo is a Renaissance productive garden rebuilt after research by the Province of Ferrara and the municipality of Portomaggiore. Tree-lined avenues lead past pomegranates, pears, apples, hazelnuts, roses, aromatic plants and flowering meadows, and the whole garden is enclosed by vines trained over walnut, willow and elm in the old manner of the plain.
The ground floor houses the Sepolcreto dei Fadieni museum. In 2002 farm work near the Delizia uncovered a Roman burial ground where the Fadieni, landowners of the Po Delta, buried four generations of their family. Five stelae and twelve cremation burials from the first and second centuries AD are on display. The collection came to the Delizia in 2006 and became a museum in 2022, with digital content added in 2023.
Getting there
The address is Via del Verginese 56, Gambulaga, Portomaggiore. The site is accessible to people with disabilities and has adapted toilets. Public opening days are Wednesday, Friday, weekends and holidays, so ask the venue how your wedding day fits around visiting hours.
