Baluardo della Montagna, Renaissance military bastion in Ferrara, Italy.
The Baluardo della Montagna, also called Montagnone or Montagna di San Giorgio, is a triangular bastion of Ferrara's walls turned into a public park. It lies between the Prospettiva di corso Giovecca to the north and Porta Romana to the south, and is planted with hackberry, plane, poplar, maple, black locust and catalpa trees.
The Baluardo della Montagna, together with the San Tommaso bastion, was built in the early 16th century using earth dug from the outer moat of Ferrara's walls. Under Duke Alfonso I d'Este the Montagnone, also called Montagna di San Giorgio, served as a military observation point and a privileged position for the Este artillery. The triangular bastion later housed gardens, then fell into neglect until its recovery during the 20th century.
A marble column with a metal cross on the grounds honors Girolamo Savonuzzi and Arturo Torboli, two resistance fighters from the Second World War. The memorial remains visible to visitors and offers a personal connection to this chapter of the city's past.
The site is open for visitors to walk along the historic walls with clear views across the city. The terrain is relatively flat and accessible for most people visiting the area.
The city's first drinking-water reservoir was inaugurated in 1890 on the Montagnone, the raised ground of the bastion that also carries Ferrara's main aqueduct and gives the park its name. The earth for the mound came from digging the outer moat of the walls.
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