Al servizio del re di Spagna: Francesco Prestino, ingegnere militare

In 1633 Francesco Prestino "principal engineer of the army of His Majesty Our Lord in the State of Milan", was commissioned by Philip IV of Spain to draft an atlas of the cities of the State of Milan. Prestino taught his skills to Gaspare Beretta, who would replace him after his death. He was engaged in the defence of the cities of the Milanese state during the war which broke out after the death of Vittorio Amedeo I of Savoy and the occupation of Piedmont by the Marquis of Leganés (1638- 1640). His focus was on the north of the Italian peninsula and, in particular, on the borders between the state of Milan and the Duchy of Savoy. In the course of a few decades, Prestino designed numerous projects to upgrade the street circuits of the cities on the border to prevent a Franco-Savoy counter-attack, especially following the failure of the sieges of Turin and Casale Monferrato (1640).