Antonio Ferramolino was a 16th-century Italian architect and military engineer. He is also known as Sferrandino da Bergamo, and is called Hernan Molin in Spanish sources. He is mostly known for his work in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, but he also designed fortifications in Ragusa and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Life

Ferramolino was born in Bergamo, which was then part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. He began his career as a soldier, but little is known about his early works. In 1529 he oversaw the construction of artillery at the Venetian Arsenal. In 1532, he fought against the Ottomans in Hungary. Ferramolino was also present at the conquest of Tunis in 1535. In 1536, Emperor Charles V sent him to review the fortifications of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

and the rest of

. Over the next couple of years, he designed several fortifications around Sicily, including at Messina,

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

and

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

. In 1538, Ferramolino went to the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

(modern

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) and designed the Revelin Fortress. In 1540, he was sent to

, which was ruled by the Order of Saint John. He designed the cavalier and ditch of Fort St. Angelo, and designed two bastions of the fortifications of Mdina. He also proposed the construction of a fort on the Sciberras Peninsula. Ferramolino was killed on 18 August 1550 during the siege of Mahdia in modern

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Works

Ferramolino designed or modified the following fortifications, among others: * Forte Gonzaga,

* Forte Castellaccio, Messina, Sicily * Forte del Santissimo Salvatore, Messina, Sicily * Castello Matagrifone, Messina, Sicily *Fortifications of

, Sicily *Fortifications of

, Sicily * Castello di Milazzo, Milazzo, Sicily * Revelin Fortress,

*Modifications to the fortifications of Mdina,

*Cavalier and ditch of Fort St. Angelo, Birgu, Malta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferramolino, Antonio 1550 deaths 16th-century Italian architects Italian military engineers People from Bergamo