Perched on the ancient delight of the Schifanoia Museum, the system of the Museums of Ancient Art is located in the south-eastern sector of Ferrara, between Corso Giovecca and Via Scandiana.

Renovated as part of the Mura Project between 1987 and 2000, the museum complex is made up of a series of important exhibition realities linked to the history of the city such as the Palazzina Marfisa d'Este, the Civic Lapidary, the House of Ludovico Ariosto, ideally connected to the Cathedral Museum. The museum activity is accompanied by the work of management and protection of the church of San Cristoforo alla Certosa and of the convent of Monastero di Sant'Antonio in Polesine.

At the Bonacossi Palace there are the management offices, the Civic Photo Library and the Library specialized in archeology and art history. The Riminaldi Museum is housed in the exhibition spaces of the building, which houses a collection of works from the 17th and 18th centuries collected by Cardinal Gian Maria Riminaldi (1718-1789).