Defending borders was an abiding concern for sovereigns and military engineers throughout the modern era. At the end of the 17th century, under the Spanish control, the dukedom of Milan suffered the consequences of an umpteenth war crisis. On August 18th, 1690 the troops of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, allied with the Spanish, were defeated by the French army of Louis XIV in Staffarda, Piedmont. Once again, the Milanese defensive system was forced to be updated to reject French incursions. Due to its geopolitical position, Milan, known as the plaza de armas, always played a fundamental role in the dispute for the control not only of the north of the Italian peninsula, but also of the routes to northern Europe. The strongholds were often reinforced during the 17th century to ensure the defense of the borders by military engineers trained by Gaspare Beretta. It is not a coincidence that one of his collaborators, Joseph Chafrion (1653-1698), a Spanish military engineer who was in Staffarda, showed the status of the dukedom’s fortifications through the printing of an atlas in 1691. The purpose of this work, dedicated to the third Marquis of Leganés governor of Milan, was to describe the Milanese defensive system. Chafrion stated its weaknesses and shortcomings and proposed strategic renovations or – sometimes – demolitions. Nowadays this work allows us to analyse the transformation of the fortifications and the history of cities in State of Milan at the end of the 17th century.

La difesa dello stato: il progetto delle piazzeforti milanesi di Joseph Chafrion alla fine del XVII secolo / Pozzati, Alice. - In: STUDI E RICERCHE DI STORIA DELL'ARCHITETTURA. - ISSN 2532-2699. - ELETTRONICO. - Studi e ricerche di storia dell'architettura. Rivista dell'Associazione Italiana Storici dell'Architettura:7(2020), pp. 80-93. [10.17401/studiericerche.7.2020-pozzati]

La difesa dello stato: il progetto delle piazzeforti milanesi di Joseph Chafrion alla fine del XVII secolo

Alice Pozzati
2020

Abstract

Defending borders was an abiding concern for sovereigns and military engineers throughout the modern era. At the end of the 17th century, under the Spanish control, the dukedom of Milan suffered the consequences of an umpteenth war crisis. On August 18th, 1690 the troops of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, allied with the Spanish, were defeated by the French army of Louis XIV in Staffarda, Piedmont. Once again, the Milanese defensive system was forced to be updated to reject French incursions. Due to its geopolitical position, Milan, known as the plaza de armas, always played a fundamental role in the dispute for the control not only of the north of the Italian peninsula, but also of the routes to northern Europe. The strongholds were often reinforced during the 17th century to ensure the defense of the borders by military engineers trained by Gaspare Beretta. It is not a coincidence that one of his collaborators, Joseph Chafrion (1653-1698), a Spanish military engineer who was in Staffarda, showed the status of the dukedom’s fortifications through the printing of an atlas in 1691. The purpose of this work, dedicated to the third Marquis of Leganés governor of Milan, was to describe the Milanese defensive system. Chafrion stated its weaknesses and shortcomings and proposed strategic renovations or – sometimes – demolitions. Nowadays this work allows us to analyse the transformation of the fortifications and the history of cities in State of Milan at the end of the 17th century.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/2872119