Ferrara Castle—also known as Castello Estense or the Castle of the Este family—is a 14th century moated medieval fortress in Ferrara, Italy. Built in 1385, the castle was originally constructed as a military fortress: thick walls surrounded by a wide moat, connected by drawbridges.
Throughout Renaissance times, however, the castle has been gradually transformed into an opulent Renaissance palace with elegant grand halls and frescoed chambers, reflecting the Este family's status as important patrons of the arts and culture.
After 1598, when the Este family left Ferrara, the castle lost its residential function, over the centuries serving as a papal residence, military barracks and even a prison. Despite these changes, much of the original structure and design remains intact, making it an extraordinary example of medieval architecture.
Today, Ferrara Castle is a key heritage site managed by Ferrara Council, being open to the public as a museum. Visitors can explore its dungeons, towers, and frescoed rooms, gaining insights into Renaissance court life the political history of northern Italy.
The objective of the project was the conservation and structural rehabilitation of the five vaulted covered arches—known as Via Coperta—that connect the castle with Ferrara’s municipal buildings. Originally constructed around 1472 and later expanded between 1499 and 1502, this historic passageway had deteriorated significantly over time due to age, environmental exposure, and, most notably, the seismic shocks of the 2012 earthquakes.
In May 2012, a series of powerful earthquakes struck the Emilia-Romagna region, the strongest reaching a magnitude of 6.1. The seismic events caused widespread damage to historic buildings across the area, and the Castello Estense was no exception. The castle suffered extensive structural impact, with deep cracks appearing throughout its thick masonry walls and vaulted interiors. Decorative elements were dislodged, and portions of stone and plaster detached, particularly around cornices and ceiling vaults. The northwest tower was among the most affected areas, exhibiting pronounced fissures and signs of separation from the adjoining masonry. Several upper rooms, including the historic chapel, were deemed unsafe and had to be temporarily closed to the public.
The vaulted covered arches of the Via Coperta, due to their exposed position between structures, experienced substantial movement and cracking.
Before the restoration of the Via Coperta’s archways, a comprehensive program of diagnostic investigations was carried out to guide the conservation strategy with scientific precision:
These investigations revealed that much of the original masonry had been obscured by thick, incompatible overlays of modern cementitious plasters and mortars—sometimes reaching up to 70–100 mm in thickness. These later additions not only masked the original fabric of the arches but also contributed to mechanical stress and hindered the breathability of the historic masonry.
The intervention followed a carefully structured sequence of conservation steps, ensuring both technical precision and historical sensitivity:
To reveal the historic masonry substrate, discarding all added cementitious layers that had compromised the building’s breathability.
Structural and Seismic Cracks: existing crack patterns of the exposed masonry were carefully examined and a targeted consolidation plan was developed to ensure the stability of the arches and vaults while preserving their original form and load-bearing integrity. The structural intervention included the selective dismantling and rebuilding of damaged masonry sections—known as "unstitching and restitching" or "scuci-cuci" in Italian—by:
This selective dismantling and rebuilding method is widely used for the structural consolidation of historic stone and brick buildings, particularly in seismic zones. It provides both structural and aesthetic rehabilitation while improving seismic resistance. The approach is reversible and minimally invasive, making it ideal for heritage buildings as it preserves the historical integrity of the fabric using original techniques and materials, and improves structural stability without introducing intrusive or modern materials and methods.
Structural Reinforcement of the Arches: the entire inner surface of the arches (intrados) has been strengthened with a high-strength structural consolidation mesh, sandwiched between two coats of Betoncino Consolidante MGN structural consolidation lime mortar. Fibreglass reinforcement connectors have also been installed into the brick arches at regular intervals, embedded into the masonry with an injectable lime grout.
Utilising a traditional three-layer lime plastering system, using MGN’s high-performance artisanal lime plasters to ensure both technical reliability and historic integrity. MGN’s plasters are crafted using only certified natural materials—air lime, pozzolana, marble powders, and natural pigments—with no cement or synthetic additives, ensuring full breathability, salt resistance, and compatibility with the historic substrate.
The use of MGN’s premium lime plasters throughout this schedule guarantees that the restoration meets the highest standards of conservation practice, artisanal craftsmanship and historical accuracy. These qualities have established MGN as a trusted material partner in prestigious heritage projects, including Venice’s renowned La Fenice opera house and, appropriately, the restoration of the Castello Estense—where authenticity, durability, and aesthetic fidelity are paramount.
The renovation works listed above were carried out between July 2024 and May 2025, representing just the beginning of a much broader initiative, the results being presented at the 30th Italian Conservation and Environmental Heritage Show.
This project is part of an ambitious €16.5 million plan aimed to structurally reinforce and upgrade the entire Castello Estense complex, with €12.5 million specifically allocated for conservation and seismic upgrades. Recent seismic events served as a wake-up call for the conservation community, exposing the vulnerability of heritage buildings—even in regions once considered low-risk for earthquakes—and underscoring the critical importance of proactive, ongoing conservation efforts to safeguard these irreplaceable cultural assets.
The restoration will be organised into four sequential phases—each phase focused on one façade of the castle per year beginning in mid-2025—with full completion anticipated between 2029 and 2030. In this broader framework, the restoration of the Via Coperta’s archways stands as a crucial first step—both technically and symbolically—in protecting one of Ferrara’s most iconic heritage landmarks.
These solutions were implemented during the project:
Here are the products used during this project to resolve the problem:
Here are some related pages with more technical information related ot this project.
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The partial restoration and structural consolidation of the Ferrara Castle (Castello Estense), a 14th-century moated medieval fortress located in the heart of Ferrara, northern Italy—as presented by the Ferrara City Council at the 30th International Conservation and Environmental Heritage Show 2025, Ferrara, Italy.
