The Galleria Estense opened to the public in 1854 by Francesco V d’Austria-Este and since 1894 is located on the fourth floor of the Palazzo dei Musei where it occupies four large halls and sixteen rooms. The museum is dedicated to the exceptional and eclectic art collections accumulated by the Dukes of Este from the days of their glorious Signoria Ferrarese and it comprises Italian paintings from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries (including a nucleus by masters of the Padana school): marble and terracotta sculptures; decorative arts (objects that made up the sumptuous ducal wardrobe); as well as drawings, bronze statuettes, maiolica pottery, medals, ivories and musical instruments. Amongst the most significant works are: Cima da Conegliano’s Pietà, Antonio da Correggio’s Madonna and Child, the Portrait of Francesco I d’Este by Velázquez,the Modena Triptych by El Greco, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s marble Bust of Francesco I d’Este and the Crucifixion by Guido Reni.