Addizione Erculea

The Addizione Erculea or Erculean Addition is the area of urban expansion created in 1492 by the enlargement of the walled city limits of Ferrara, Italy. It is celebrated as an example of Renaissance urban planning. The walled medieval city of Ferrara was geographically limited from southward expansion by a branch of the delta of the Po river. In 1450, the prior Duke, Borso d'Este (1450) had enlarged slightly the city southward with reclaimed land from the river banks. However, Ercole d'Este had suffered from attacks and sieges from Venice to the north and the Papal states to the South. In 1492, in order to accommodate the burgeoning city and create a more daunting city-fortress to withstand sieges, Ercole d'Este commissioned plans from the architect Biagio Rossetti for an urban expansion north of the city. The walls at this border coincided with the north flank of the Castello Estense. These walls were razed and the moat, present Corso Giovecca, was filled in.