The Monument of Ludovico Ariosto in Ferrara: conservation of architectural surfaces and structural consolidation

The iconic Renaissance monument in Ferrara was requested by Duke Ercole I d’Este at the end of the 15th century for the “Piazza Nova” of the Erculean Addition. The project comprised an equestrian statue of the Duke positioned on two monolithic columns with a pedestal, capitals and trabeated system. The project was never completed except for the 10 m monolithic column, upon which statues of Pope Alexander VII (1675), Napoleon (1810) and, finally, Ludovico Ariosto (1833), the symbolic Ferrarese poet were placed. The project involves the removal of recent interventions which were structurally and aesthetically invasive: lowering the statue using a specially designed engineering technique; disassembling the 11 st components of the capital due to oxidisation of the metal connectors; replacing the oxidised parts with new connectors; controlled cleaning of the surfaces; integration with mortars made on-site with natural and sustainable materials. The purpose of this project is to restore the cleaner and safer Monument of Ludovico Ariosto to the community through a “critical restoration”, based on historical knowledge.