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September 2012

Vol. 154 / No. 1314

The Italian Earthquake

The region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy had been suffering incessant earth tremors for several days from 20th May onwards. In one of these, on 28th May, the parish church of San Felice sul Panaro was partly ruined but a triptych of The coronation of the Virgin with Sts Felice and Gimignano by Bernardino Loschi, housed for centuries in the church, was saved. On the following day, an earthquake of even greater magnitude completely destroyed the church, reducing to rubble the wall of the apse that had protected the triptych. Since then the painting has become a symbol of hope that the artistic heritage of the region can be resurrected after the terrible destruction wrought by the earthquakes.

This region is replete with buildings dating from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, both in the small feudal holdings of the Pico family, lords of Mirandola, of the Pio family at Carpi, and the grander dominions of the Este at Ferrara and the Gonzaga at Mantua. These rulers left the region with a glorious architectural inheritance; castles and fortresses built in the trecento were transformed over the following centuries into elegant palaces, decorated by great artists. All these buildings, subsequently converted into museums of international importance, have, to a greater or lesser extent, been damaged by the earthquakes. At Ferrara two turrets on the Castello Estense modified by Girolamo da Carpi collapsed and, less visible but equally grave, the precious ceilings of Alfonso d’Este’s Appartamento dello Specchio have been damaged. Whole sections of the Castello della Rocche at Finale Emilia and the Rocca at San Felice sul Panaro have been completely destroyed; both were designed by Marchese Niccolò d’Este’s architect Bartolino da Novara, responsible for the castles at Ferrara and Mantua. The Pico family’s castle at Mirandola and the Pio’s palace at Carpi still stand, but, like so many of the buildings in the area, they have lost battlements, turrets, crowning elements and monumental walkways, while parts of the ducal chapel of Sta Barbara in the Palazzo Ducale at Mantua have collapsed.

Of the most significant ecclesiastical buildings, the cathedrals of Ferrara and Modena, where the architect–sculptors Nicolò and Wiligelmo worked, have been damaged, although not seriously; they, together with the Pieve at Quarantoli, also badly damaged, are the most important monuments for the history of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in the area. The sixteenth-century cathedral at Carpi was hit, and that at Mirandola has literally disintegrated; the ancient abbey of S. Benedetto in Pollirone, which Giulio Romano restored, suffered badly; and important seventeenth-century Baroque churches and museums that house works by Emilian painters such as Guercino, Reni, Gennari and Lavinia Fontana have been seriously damaged.

In the epicentre of the quake, many much smaller towns have been struck, such as Pieve di Cento, Crevalcore, Mirandola, Concordia, Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro, which until that moment had preserved their ancient urban structure, representing historical, artistic and social continuity.

Questions have been asked as to why the earthquake should have affected so many ancient buildings so severely. The answer is, in large part, historical: buildings in the Po valley have always been constructed of bricks made of local clay, and mortar was made by mixing sand containing soil and little lime. Walls were often badly constructed, as is evident – following the collapse of the buildings – from the numerous signs of their having been reinforced or filled with extraneous material. Floors and roofs were usually supported by simple struts; ceilings were made of light materials; few buildings had buttresses or additional supports. Churches in particular were vulnerable: at the quake’s epicentre not a single church has remained undamaged. Further away, walls did not collapse, but there is still structural damage and the buildings are in a perilous state.

Immediately following the quake, provisional measures have been taken to secure the most damaged buildings and campanili. Given the extent of the area affected, it is evident that reconstruction will take decades. Decisions will be taken, building by building, as to what can be resurrected, while everything that can be saved (bricks, cornices, tie-beams, stucco, painted plaster, etc.) is being catalogued for use in the reconstruction. Probably some of the churches and bell towers that have completely collapsed should be considered lost forever, although, in such cases, the wishes of the local people must be taken into account, as their civic identity is invested in such buildings.

The cost of the restoration work is estimated at over €2 billion and will be met by the State, although when these funds will become available is unclear. A request for immediate funds has been made to the European Union Solidarity Fund, but even if it is granted it will provide no more than five per cent of the total sum. In addition, buildings and monuments are being adopted for restoration by local and international associations.

The job of extracting works of art from damaged buildings is in progress, and they will be restored under the auspices of the Istituto Superiore per il restauro and of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Works that can be moved will be treated in the laboratory of the Palazzo Ducale in Sassuolo. The restoration of buildings will be in the care of their owners (municipalities, the church, etc.), under the supervision of the Ministry, and the regional government will distribute the funds.1

Two questions are prompted by this devastation: why has it not happened before and when will it happen again? The first question is easily answered. The last substantial earthquake in the Ferrara area was on 17th November 1570, and that was considerably smaller than the largest of 2012. The second question is more difficult to answer. The Po valley overlies the contact between the African and European plates, and it is the kind of junction where stress may build up for millennia before it reaches breaking point. Moreover, breaks may occur anywhere along the very irregular contact at different times (witness the earthquake on 12th May 1802 at Soncino, near Cremona), and rather than relieving the stress, a large quake may set off a long sequence of further shocks. The answer is that we cannot tell. But it is essential that any rebuilding must use earthquake-proof technology, a challenge to architects, but not an insuperable one.

Carla di Francesco
Direttore, La Direzione Regionale Per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggisitici dell’Emilia Romagna

1    If readers wish to contribute to the restoration fund, please visit www.emiliaromagna.beniculturali.it; email: sisma2012@beniculturali.it.