Our story · Since 1990
A family on the square, opposite the Castle.
Hotel Annunziata has been our home since 1990. My sister Biancamaria, my mother Simona and I work here, together with a team who, over the years, have become like a family.
For us, hospitality is not just a job: it is the way we like to be with people, those who come from far away and those who live in Ferrara. Zeno Govoni
The family
Simona, Zeno and Biancamaria.
- SimonaFounder & ownerIn 1990, with Corrado, she reopened the hotel after renovating it from top to bottom. The jams and the recipes of La Dispensa are hers.
- ZenoOwner & hotel managerIn the family business since 1995, and an engineer. He signs the tips on Ferrara on this website and the Tips Spotted by Zeno.
- BiancamariaOwner & breakfast managerShe joined the hotel a few years after Zeno. She looks after La Dispensa, our breakfast made with local produce.
The team
The people who welcome you.
Reception is open 24 hours a day: they are the ones who hand you your keys, suggest where to have dinner and get your parking ticket ready.
- ZenoOwner & hotel manager
- BiancamariaOwner & breakfast manager
- AnnaReception and breakfast
- FedericaBreakfast
- GiovanniReception
- MassimilianoHead of reception
- MassimoReception
- SabrinaReception and breakfast
Milestones
From 1990 to today.
- Late 1980sThe hotel, then a one-star, belongs to the three Govoni siblings, Corrado, Nino and Tina, who work at La Brasiliana, the coffee roastery founded by their grandfather. Corrado decides to change jobs: through an exchange of property the hotel passes to him, and with Simona he renovates it completely.
- 1990On 25 March Hotel Annunziata reopens with four stars.
- 1995After Corrado passes away, Zeno joins the business straight away. The following year he graduates in Engineering, and he has never left since. Later Biancamaria joins too.
- 2003The Annex opens, 130 metres from the hotel.
- 2011A new renovation turns the Annunziata into the hotel it is today. The Art Gallery is born: six artists a year, in the lobby and the library room.
- 2025FrameFlow arrives: twelve photographers a year, one a month, on the lobby screens.
- TodayBreakfast changes philosophy and becomes La Dispensa: fewer products, more quality, from producers in or near the Ferrara area. And the hotel opens up to the city with its services, some of them new, also for people who are not staying with us.
- 2026Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice award.
What we care about
Three things we believe in.
Open to the city.
Breakfast, the bar, exhibitions, bikes, a desk, water for your bottle: on the ground floor everything is also open to people who are not staying with us.
I live in FerraraThe façade that lights up.
On days dedicated to health, rights and research, the façade takes on the colour of the cause: purple for premature birth, blue for autism, pink for prevention.
Less waste, more forest.
We are drastically cutting plastic, we choose local and certified suppliers, and guests who skip room servicing help the Bosco Integrale di Cento, just outside Ferrara.
SustainabilityFrequently asked questions.
Who runs Hotel Annunziata?
The Govoni family: Simona, the founder, and her children Zeno, the manager, and Biancamaria, who runs breakfast, together with our team, who over the years have become like a family.
How long has the Govoni family had the hotel?
Since 1990: Corrado and Simona Govoni renovated it completely and reopened it on 25 March 1990 with four stars. The Annex opened in 2003, and in 2011 a new renovation turned the Annunziata into the hotel it is today.
Is the hotel also open to people who are not staying there?
Yes: breakfast, the Bitter Spritz Bar, the Art Gallery and FrameFlow, bike hire, luggage storage and water for your bottle are available to everyone.
Why does the façade change colour?
On days dedicated to health, rights and research, the façade lights up in the colour of the cause: purple for premature birth, blue for autism, pink for prevention.
Who makes the breakfast jams?
Simona, Zeno’s mother. Her Ferrara recipes can be downloaded from the La Dispensa page.
