Inauguration of the parsonage of the parish of San Cesario sul Panaro damaged by the earthquakeA piece of Emilia damaged by the 2012 earthquake has been returned to her community. In San Cesario sul Panaro, in the province of Modena, the parsonage of San Cesario Diacono Martire was inaugurated at 10 am on Sunday, September, 22nd. The inauguration occurred in the presence of the parish priest Don Luca Palazzi, the Mayor Francesco Zuffi and some representatives of the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage, together with the team of Ingegneri Riuniti who designed and supervised the restructuring works. This was one of the last construction sites of Ingegneri Riuniti, an engineering and architecture firm based in Modena that provides integrated design, planning, consultancy, feasibility and project management services to the sector of planning and construction. The works were commissioned by the Parish of San Cesario Diacono Martire and began in 2017, after a two-year planning period, thanks to various funding channels, among which it is necessary to mention the Italian Episcopal Conference, through the vital support of the technical departments of the Diocese of Modena. The aim of the project was to secure the building to achieve the highest possible level of its seismic improvement. The parsonage was under the protection of the Superintendency, so the structural and architectural measures applied were particularly attentive to respect for this historic place and were agreed with the supervising authority. The parsonage was originally built in the same period as that of the Romanesque church to which it refers and of the nearby building called “the Bastion”, constituting one of the most important and significant parts of the historic centre of the Municipality of San Cesario. Particularly, the analysis work of the building was important, through numerous investigations on the building structures and on all the elements that compose it. This work was made necessary by the absence of archival documentation. It was thus possible to reconstruct the forgotten history of the structure and it emerged that probably the current basement was originally above ground, on the same level as the original floor of the church, which was exposed during a heavy restoration carried out approximately in 1954. It also turned out that the parsonage was heavily transformed on that occasion, particularly as far as the creation of a garage corresponding to a large hall. Ingegneri Riuniti has restored the original dignity to this space, recomposing the large original room with the two rows of pillars now structurally consolidated, which seem to form three naves. Moreover, many small interventions were performed in order to clean up the fronts. Particularly significant was the recovery of a large entrance arch to the basement and particular attention was paid to the external and internal fixtures, by restoring all the original ones. Emanuele Gozzi, responsible for the general coordination of the project, said: “I am very satisfied with the work done. We have helped to restore to its former glory a building damaged not only by the 2012 earthquake, but also by restoration works that were carried out many years ago and were not respectful of its history. It’s a piece of Italy, which like many in our “Bel Paese” has been damaged by the dramatic violence of the seismic events that have affected our country in recent years. Today, after being ‘treated’ with recovery and seismic improvement interventions, we are able to return it to its community.” According to Gozzi, “It is an honour to have taken part, with this work, in the challenge of reconstructing an Italy that, although severely affected, is working to rebuild itself and heal its own wounds. A special thanks goes to the whole team of Ingegneri Riuniti who supervised the planning and the management of the works, with a particular appreciation to the Project Manager of the works, Engineer Carlo Guidetti.” (Ingegneri Riuniti press release - Modena, September, 22nd, 2019)