External fortifications in Modone during the 2nd Venetian occupation (1685-1715)

Abstract

[EN] The city of Methoni (Venetian Modone), built on a small peninsula in the southwestern Peloponnese, retained a large part of its medieval fortifications after the introduction of artillery. However, it had to be further fortified on the side of the land, where attack was easier. In this area, the Venetians carried out extensive works when they captured the city for the second time (1685-1715), shortly before it fell again to the Ottomans. The work of the Venetians extended beyond the limits of the walled city and included the extensive remodeling of constructions they had begun two centuries earlier. The project included two bastions, the remodeling of the entrance to the city, the completion of the moat, and an outer work on the opposite side.New detailed architectural survey drawings carried out by the Laboratory for the Documentation and Conservation of Historic Buildings and Sites of the Technical University of Crete complement our knowledge of this fortification campaign. The new observations augment the information deriving from published Venetian documents and plans, shedding light on the fortification design, construction methods, and phases of development. The fortifications were designed by Antonio Giancix in 1708, but their construction was made possible only in 1713-14. For the so-called Loredan bastion on the east side of the city gate, it is now possible to document how it incorporated a former ravelin built shortly before the first fall of the city to the Ottomans (1500), which was only known from historical plans. The western bastion and the northwest outer work have similar construction features and were designed in an area that had never been fortified. Their construction was related to the moat extending towards the west, completely cutting off the peninsula from the land.