Nova Imago Urbis: the transformation of city walls in early Renaissance as a model for the contemporary city image

Abstract

[EN] The transformation of fortifications in early Renaissance supposed a revolution not only from a strictly military view: at the same time the medieval fortifications were replaced by others designed to deal with the artillery, the urban walls which was part of the essence of the European cities from Antiquity had to be transformed. Aware of this problem, several generations of architects coinciding with those that promoted the Renaissance in Italy during the quattrocento and cinquecento, tried to look for a functional, formal and symbolic resolution to this incipient fortifications against the artillery. The challenge was to give a new form to the new defence works, a “form” that at the same time allowed the maximum of technological correspondence and the maximum of symbolic and visual significance for the city. This article discusses the consequences this process had for the definition of the city’s image from Renaissance to 19th century and exposes some recent project examples that, following the lessons learned during this process of redefinition of fortifications, tries to give back to the current historic cities its lost image