Until the mid-sixteenth century, the defense of the Kingdom of Sardinia was essentially based on the fortifications of the Royal Cities (Cagliari, Alghero and Castellaragonese in primis). Only from the second half of the century the king and the local authorities began to think about the defense of the entire coastal perimeter of the island. The actual construction of the coastal defense system of the Kingdom, at the end consisting of over one hundred towers, was undertaken only after the determined action of reform of the administration by Philip II; but the realization could develop only after the sovereign and his lieutenant were able to view some accurate and detailed reports on the Kingdom and its coasts, previously commissioned. In fact, these are the decades in which Philip II used the collaboration of able architects for the study and design of coastal defense against the threat of the Turkish, which has become a real obsession. As regards the Kingdom of Sardinia, between the 60s and 80s of the century, in the context of a fervour of cartographic and descriptive works, three official reports were produced on the Sardinian territories and coasts, one of which is still unpublished. We can certainly speak of a real action of careful study and planning of the territory, a necessary premise so that, starting from the end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century, the construction of the static defense system of the coasts of island and Kingdom of Sardinia began and completed.
Giovanni Serreli, La lunga pianificazione del sistema di difesa costiera del Regno di Sardegna, in "Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean edited by Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua and Denise Ulivieri, vol. 13, Pisa University Press, Pisa, 2023
Giovanni Serreli
2023-01-01
Abstract
Until the mid-sixteenth century, the defense of the Kingdom of Sardinia was essentially based on the fortifications of the Royal Cities (Cagliari, Alghero and Castellaragonese in primis). Only from the second half of the century the king and the local authorities began to think about the defense of the entire coastal perimeter of the island. The actual construction of the coastal defense system of the Kingdom, at the end consisting of over one hundred towers, was undertaken only after the determined action of reform of the administration by Philip II; but the realization could develop only after the sovereign and his lieutenant were able to view some accurate and detailed reports on the Kingdom and its coasts, previously commissioned. In fact, these are the decades in which Philip II used the collaboration of able architects for the study and design of coastal defense against the threat of the Turkish, which has become a real obsession. As regards the Kingdom of Sardinia, between the 60s and 80s of the century, in the context of a fervour of cartographic and descriptive works, three official reports were produced on the Sardinian territories and coasts, one of which is still unpublished. We can certainly speak of a real action of careful study and planning of the territory, a necessary premise so that, starting from the end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century, the construction of the static defense system of the coasts of island and Kingdom of Sardinia began and completed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
