Palmanova, Italy is a town in northeast Italy that was the culmination of renaissance studies into the ideal urban geometry for defense. The fortress was erected, starting from 1593, to defend the eastern borders of the Republic of Venice from the menace of a Turkish invasion and from growing Austrian pressures. The choice of a nine-pointed star-like plan unites the influences of the Renaissance cultural debate and the most advanced solutions of the contemporary military engineering. The first defensive ring, protected by a moat, is made up of the cortine (fortifications) and the ramparts. Because of the new besieging technologies, a second ring was erected in the 17th Century. A further ring was built in the time of Napolean, between 1805 and 1813, by the French Engineers Corps settled within the fortress. The fortress is accessible by three gates, ascribed to the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, named Porta Udine, Porta Marittima or Aquileia and Porta Cividale.
site
Flat, swamp land.
tissue
A nine-sided polygon. At the center a six-sided polygon.
Crossfire vectors determine the shape of the ramparts.
Often called the "star city" as the ramparts form multiple points.
Historical Notes
Palmanova was one of the Citte Fondate (1930's Fascist Italy)
A Citta Fondata was a fascist town zoned for uses and expressed with fascist architecture.
During WWI, the Austrians occupied the town. In the opera house, operas would still go on. At the end of some Verdi operas, the Italians would shout: "Viva Verdi!" and clap for him. The Austrians would clap, too, thinking they were clapping for Verdi. But there was a hidden meaning: VERDI was an acronym for "Vittorio Emanuele Re D'Italia" and so the Austrians were unknowingly clapping for the King of Italy, their enemy.
Designed for 20,000 inhabitants, the maximum was only ever 10,000 people. 5,000 of those were military. The city has no towers, so as not to be seen over the ramparts. The Napoleonic stores would later become convention centers. The abandoned barracks take up a lot of area, and have not yet been adapted to new use.
Field Notes
Though Palmanova has perfect geometrical layout, its architecture is imperfect. Floor levels vary, building heights vary, acute corners resulting from the star layout are dealt with in various ways, the main square is extra large and therefore underpopulated as it was originally designed for military gathering. Some buildings are imported, and a hierarchy is not apparent.
A streetscape looking toward the center of the town. Instead of a lookout tower as planned, a flagpole.
The regular geometry of the street layout creates particular building form-types at various corners.
Palmanova is undetected in the landscape, because no buildings rise taller than the ramparts.
It is also worth noting that navigation is extremely confusing because the form and vista are the same for all streets and vectors. Perfect form = equal experience = lack of object.
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