Facades conservation of Ranzi Palace
location
Trento
type
architecture, restoration, historic research
area
747 sqm (facades)
state
completed
date
2010
client
Italcementi
team
Elisa Burnazzi, Davide Feltrin
graphic design
Elisa Burnazzi, Mattia Micheletti
photos
studio archives, Carlo Baroni
Restoration facades of Ranzi Palace: history is exciting
History is an exciting field and so was our restoration project since the beginning. A restorer discovered fake marble decorations that were supposed to be lost. A photographer climbed on a 15m high scaffolding to better see the terracotta medallions and understood that they had a (political) agenda. Two architects and member of the Regional Trust wrote their first book about history of architecture. This book was presented at the Vittoriano for the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy exhibition. The same book was acquired by the national libraries of Rome and Florence, and also published on Wikipedia.
Restoration facades of Ranzi Palace: a dream to realize
Ranzi Palace is located in the city center of Trento and it is one of the most important town’s buildings, it has neo-Renaissance proportions and beautiful terracotta decorations that adorn the facades. The palace was built in 1862 by Francesco Ranzi, an enlightened entrepreneur, in place of a sumac mill and a Romanesque tower. The main facade overlooks Piazza S. Maria Maggiore, whereas the secondary one, which is narrower, faces Via A. Rosmini. Ranzi Palace’s popular name, palaz da le teste, derives from the presence of fifteen terracotta high reliefs by the sculptor Andrea Malfatti, portraying the most famous Trentino artists and intellectuals from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century.
The facade has four levels, which decrease in high from the bottom to the top, and it is divided vertically by pillars: this create symmetry, which highlights the main entrance to the city center. This door is decorated with more sophisticated ornaments than the others.
On the ground floor there are round-arched doors, on the first and second floor round-arched lancet windows, while, on the top floor mullioned windows low arched. On the crowning element, under the lintel, there are some oculi, in line with the openings on the lower levels.
The client wanted to restore only the facades and the common areas.
Restoration facades of Ranzi Palace: our project between architecture, restoration, historic research and construction
The restoration, also supported by an historical research, published in the book “Palazzo Ranzi un cantiere alle soglie d’Italia”, implied fixing plasters and cleaning, reinforcing and protecting all sculptures and stones. Noteworthy are the discovered faux marble friezes on the facade facing Piazza S. Maria Maggiore on the ground floor, around the heads in terracotta nerby the arches, and along Via A. Rosmini, in the trabeation of the eaves.
Publications
2012
Studi trentini
Società Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche
Italia
L’Adige
Società Iniziative Editoriali
Italia
2011
Palazzo Ranzi a Trento, un cantiere alle soglie d’Italia
Edizioni PAT
Italia
Imprese Edili
Editore Tecniche Nuove
Italia
Events
2019
Cena con noi al mercato – Piazza Santa Maria e dintorni: com’era e com’è
Fondazione Franco Demarchi
Piazza Santa Maria, Trento, Italia
2012
Il 150° si racconta: le manifestazioni celebrative
Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri
Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano, Roma, Italia,
Palazzo Ranzi a Trento, un cantiere alle soglie d’Italia
Provincia Autonoma di Trento
Spazio Archeologico Sotterraneo Sass, Trento, Italia