Lime Mortars have always had to with stand extreme weather and seas
Lime Mortars have always had to with stand extreme weather and seas. This photo shows The Castello Maniace, a citadel and castle in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the far point of the Ortygia island promontory, where it was constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II.
The first fort was built here in 1038 by George Maniakes, a Greek general and later the Catepan of Italy, after he captured Syracuse from the Arabs on behalf of the Emperor Michael IV. Frederick II, as King of Sicily, had his architect Riccardo da Lentini rebuild it in 1232-1240. King Peter III of Aragon resided here with his family in 1288. From 1305 to 1536 the castle was used as residence by numerous queens of Sicily. In the 15th century it was used as a prison. In the following century it was included in the fortification defending the harbour and the city. A huge explosion damaged it in 1704, after which it was renovated and adapted to the use of guns.
Throughout its building and rebuilding it has been constructed from Syracuse finely grained limestone bedded on lime mortars.
Related Articles
M Womersleys runs Hot Lime Mortar Courses, and our workshop is designed to provide an introductory guide to preparing and applying
Organisations that seek to control how people maintain old buildings view using hot lime mortars as …
M Womersleys carried out mortar analysis on the building and pointing mortars used externally at a higher level at India House
M Womersleys carried out mortar analysis on the building and pointing mortars used externally at a higher…
How to re-render a historic brick and timber framed house with breathable lime renders
The first crucial step before any rendering work can commence is preparing a comprehensive repair schedule…