History
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The fortress'original building dates back to the
second half of the thirteenth century. The building was
commissioned by Rinaldo di Acquaviva with the aim of defending
the northern borders of his dominions but in particular to watch
over the only existing communication route between the North and
South of Italy. At the same time he could block the way to the
sea to those coming from the inside lands.
The fortress was completely destroyed by Francesco Sforza's army around the first half of the year 1400. It was rebuilt at the end of the same century according to the architectural military models of the Renaissance. Infact,the Fortress is one of the most important examples of fortification of that period.
As a military garrison it played an important role
in the wars between the Ghibellines and the Guelphs
until the creation of the Papal States, when its primary function
became that of defending the coast from the Turks invasions. Its
military importance declined at the end of the seventeenth
century due to the radical changes which had occurred in the
meantime in the practice of war.
Rebuilt on a design of the Florentine architect, Baccio Pontelli, the fortress presents an irregular quadrilateral plan. The towers placed one at each vertex, are of different size and structure according to the nature of the land over which they watched and in relation to the risk of assaults they expected to resist.
The fortress distinguishes itself for the double system of walls. The first supports the communication trenches and juts out towards the outside with the arches meant for throwing down heavy objects in case of defense; The second, instead, was deeply sloped to prevent the bouncing back of the bullets. Inside there were some casemates where they positioned with to shoot with light weapons..
The two main towers,(at north-west and at
south-west) have their barycentre arranged along the symmetry
axis of the whole fortress, dividing the yard into two similar
triangulars with the sides coincident with the perimetry walls.
By assembling of the lines linking the barycentres of the towers at the corners and of the walls enclosing the yard, clearly reveals the shape of a crossbow ready to shoot its arrow towards the sea at east. Infact, the greatest danger came from that direction.
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