Fortresses in the City, Fortresses in the Plain. Military Policy in the Pontifical Legations in the Early 17th Century.

The article provides a reconstruction of the defensive policy in the northern provinces of the Papal State (Ferrara, Bologna, Romagna) between 1598 and 1640, ex- amining the role of professional soldiers and the militia of the countryside. The con- struction of the “alla moderna” fortresses of Ferrara (1598) and the Forte Urbano in Castelfranco Emilia (1628) can be considered within this framework. In the former, a fortress was constructed within the pre-existing walls of a newly acquired city, albeit physically detached from the adjacent urban fabric. In the latter, a fortress was built ex novo in a moment of emergency on an open plain boundary, with the purpose of con- trolling the passage on a major communication road. The work analyses the times, ob- jectives and concrete realisations of these two new installations, in order to understand how the defence of these territories was imagined and with what role these fortifica- tions were to be integrated. It also reviews the problems connected with their construc- tion (planning, work management, financing, procurement of labour, materials, means of transport) and their social actors: court and local political groups, architects and en- gineers, military personnel, specialised artisans, peasants used as labourers. A diver- gent purpose emerges between city and plain fortresses, and is reflected in the overall military policy of the pontifical state (and the small European states) in the early mod- ern age.

Keywords: Pontifical State, Defensive Structures, “Alla Moderna” Fortesses, Militias of the Contado, Bologna, Ferrara, Forte Urbano (Castelfranco Emilia).

Andrea Gardi, Fortezze in città, fortezze in pianura. La politica militare nelle Legazioni pontificie del primo Seicento in "STORIA URBANA " 178/2024, pp 15-43, DOI: 10.3280/SU2024-178002