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Area Salute, Società e Tecnologia per Allievi Ufficiali | Health, Society, and Technology area for Cadets 231

chitecturally and decoratively, with those of contemporary kings.
The Duke, an excellent patron, with the intention of creating a sump-
tuous residence, compared different proposals: some provided preser-
vation of the old castle structure; on the other hand, others vouched
for a completely new construction. Duke entrusted Girolamo Rain-
aldi, then assigned the project to Gaspare Vigarani and eventually to
Bartolomeo Avanzini, who, probably revised Rainaldi’s drawings. The
Roman architect Rainaldi, who at the time served at the court of
the Duke of Parma, between 1631 and 1634 proposed to Francesco I
different projects which provided the incorporation of the old castle
structure in a building of a modern baroque style.
Other suggestions were those made by the architect Ercole Morandi
from Ferrara who designed, in 1634, a fortress surrounded by a moat,
an anachronistic possibility that was not even taken into account.
The project drawn up by the young Bartolomeo Avanzini was the
result of a compositional thought and design approach of some re-
nowned architects who reviewed the project, such as Gian Lorenzo
Bernini, Francesco Borromini and Pietro da Cortona and continued
to keep, although disguised, the vestiges of the ancient medieval cas-
tle. From the series of drawings attributed to Avanzini, created before
1651, it is possible to see the high definition of the details. In 1635
construction started on the old castle’s structure: it is difficult to fully
establish precisely how the works were carried out until 1650, also for
the interruptions due to the construction work of Palazzo di Sassuolo.
The work involved Bartolomeo Avanzini for a long time until his death
in 1658, year in which also Francesco I, his patron, died. The progress
of the works can be estimated by observing a drawing by Bartolomeo
Fenis and an engraving print present in the funeral eulogy that Do-
menico Gamberti wrote in memory of Francesco I in 1659: the two
images, completing themselves, show the castle, part of the tower and

Il salone d’onore, Palazzo Ducale - Accademia Militare di Modena The Hall of Honour, Palazzo Ducale - Accademia Militare of Modena