After the earthquake of 1117 and the fire of 1174, which destroyed
three-quarters of the houses in the city, Padua’s urban expansion followed
that of its economic situation. New fortifications were required and from
1195 onwards work continued for several decades.
The domination of the tyrant Ezzelino III da Romano, which lasted from
1237 to 1256, saw the defences accompanied by the building of the castle,
situated to the south. After the fall of Ezzelino, followed by renewed
warfare, the bastions were rapidly transformed into proper walls, and the
process was further stimulated by the advent of the Carraresi lords. Between
1338 and 1345, a second round of walls was built, replacing former
fortifications with walls sustained by towers, for a final total of
thirteen. The castle was completed in 1374 by Francesco I.
The Venetian walls
The conquest of Padua by the Republic of Venice in 1405 meant that all
further work on the walls was halted for a century. Renewed interest in them
coincided with one of the most critical phases of the history of Venice. On
May 14 1509, the League of Cambrai,composed of French, Austrian and Spanish
forces together with papal support, opposed Venice, and defeated the
Venetian army at Agnadello. Austrian troops, led by Maximilian I, then first
occupied Padua and later laid siege to Venice.
After the Venetians reconquered the city, the problem of rebuilding the
Medieval fortifications arose. Captain-General Niccolò Orsini, Count of
Pitigliano, the general military supervisor Andrea Gritti, and the architect
Fra’ Giacondo were among those who worked on plans. With the treaty of
Noyon in 1516, a new phase began for the walls of Padua: leading operations
was the new Captain-General of the Venetian troops, Bartolomeo d’Alviano.
Working with the architect Sebastiano da Lugano, he began systematically to
demolish the Medieval walls and the buildings which had existed in a belt
half a mile wide just inside them, in order to recoup material for new
constructions, and his successors continued the work. The result was a total
length of walling of 11,123 metres, to which are to be added the 36 metres
of the chain terminating in the Bastione della Saracinesca, the so-called
'Chain Bastion', which when closed denied access to the city by water.
Inside the circuit were eleven towers, seven ramparts, one smaller bastion,
eight gates constructed in earthwork, and one river gate.
Here are some fine pictures of the
