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The earthquakes of May 20th and 29th, 2012 A provisional report of a dramatic experience The earthquake in Emilia has left profound scars, caused suffering and added further difficulty to what was already a complex economic situation. There has, however, been an extraordinary response to this disaster.
The reaction to the devastating “earth breath” Courage and solidarity Several months have passed since the profound and lethal "earth breath" of May 20th which made us discover how fragile we are. If it is when faced with difficulties that we see how a community reacts, then Ferrara has shown extraordinary strength.
Doing business in an earthquake zone Will, pragmatism and creativity The earthquakes of May 2012 extensively and violently damaged the most productive district of our province - the upper Ferrara area which houses most of the industrial activity of the area.
“We’re still here, we haven’t left” Small businesses and craftsmen Eight months after the earthquake it is possible to take stock of the situation, analyzing what has been done. I can testify that, after the initial pain and discomfort, my colleagues and craftsmen reacted by rolling up their sleeves and removing the rubble from homes and businesses.
Tha agricultural sector and the earthquake Facts and considerations Old rural culture has always been cautiously afraid of leap years. In the 2012 leap year we witnessed a catastrophic earthquake and a devastating drought that
extensively damaged not only agricultural buildings but also the farm revenue for a large part of the upper Ferrara area.

The power of ideas is the driving force behind recovery

Written by  Giulio Felloni

The response of the world of commerce

The recovery of Ferrara and province follows a process based on trust and a willingness to restart, the necessary "ingredients" to revitalize the cultural, social and business life of our area.

06-01The business world was operative immediately, organizing emergency mobile advice centres and several informative meetings in Cento, Sant'Agostino and Ferrara, whilst, at the same time, making requests for the adequate funding to be allocated to business, services and tourism. The associations continued working in a variety of ways: by collaborating with the drafting of protocols with regard to Credit and Legality, creating announcements for the relocation06-02 of damaged businesses and innovation, and drafting ordinances aimed at relaunching companies, house reconstruction and the adaptation of planning regulations. This commitment was also expressed with the investment of resources of over half a million euros. Now reconstruction must begin. To start this phase we need to temporarily relocate approximately sixty companies, ensuring that they remain close to the town centres, as these remain the authentic and natural hubs of commerce. The aim is also to contribute to the preservation of the cultural and artistic heritage of our territory by creating06-04 events dedicated to the hearts of the cities, where art, culture and commerce should be encouraged to work together. Finally, we must promote special events, geared at attracting large numbers of tourist to the province of Ferrara. The goal is to restore local business, services and tourism to a level of excellence, confident that the strength of innovative ideas will be the driving force of our recovery.