On the ground floor of the Palazzo dei Diamanti, the Museum of the Risorgimento and Contemporary Age covers the history of Ferrara and the region from the Napoleonic period through the 20th century. The collection includes documents, photographs, uniforms, and personal effects relating to the unification of Italy, the First World War, the Fascist period, and the Resistance.
The Fascist and wartime sections are particularly worth attention, given Ferrara's role as a centre of early Italian Fascism in the 1920s and the tragedy of its Jewish community in 1943-44. The museum is often quieter than the upper floor exhibitions, and its content complements a visit to the Jewish Museum in the ghetto.