The
Aragonese walls
Ordered during the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic, the
Aragonese walls were built between 1496 and 1508 according to a project by the
military engineer Baldiri Meteli. The walls are protected by 4 large
semi-cylindrical towers (known as “barbacani”) that contain several artillery
emplacements on different levels. 2 additional circular towers were used to
defend the elegant entrance gate displaying the marble crest of Ferdinand the
Catholic, carved in 1503 by the sculptor Bartolomeo Berrettaro. Above the crest
is a stone bracket (“beccatelli”) from which stones or boiling liquids were
thrown down to hinder enemy attacks.
The first semi-cylindrical tower to be built – between
January 1496 and April 1497 – was the “barbacane di menzu journu” which faced south. In September 1499 another
tower, near the entrance gate was still under construction. In 1503, building
of the entire fortification was directed by the master builder Johanni Gaytano,
while in 1504 civilian buildings were pulled down (in the Salvatore quarter) in
order to provide more space for the fortification.
The largest artillery emplacements – on the ground floor
and on top of each of the towers – held the “bombard” cannons. The smaller
emplacements – on the first floor – held smaller artillery such as “falconets”
and “culverins” and soldiers were obliged to kneel in order to use them. These
soldiers took aim through a cross shaped opening in one of the blocks of stone located
above the round or rectangular aperture from which all types of cannon (bombards,
culverins, etc) would point. To this day, on the exterior of these apertures,
holes in the stone, that once held the pivots of the wooden doors that protected the artillery from
rain and bad weather, can still be seen. Every artillery emplacement
also had a chimney that allowed for the release of smoke produced by cannon
fire.
