posted 05-25-2002 05:33 AM            

I'm trying to identify a sketch in a manuscript (circa 1500) of a square-plan castle with a central tower and two demilunes, but so far have only found one reasonable match (Imola's Rocca Sforzesca).

Imola's demilunes were added 1472-1474, but one of them was partially destroyed by Cesare Borgia in 1500 - though they both still appear in Leonardo da Vinci's cartographic plan of Imola (1502). Leonardo was also consulted on what to do with them, though his suggestions weren't acted upon.

Historically, my understanding is that demilunes were a Northern Italian experiment in castle fortification that didn't really work in practice (they gave your enemy's engineers something obvious to blow up, and also blocked your line of sight), and so was quickly abandoned.

If demilunes were rare, my identification is strong - but if every castle of the time had them, I'm back to square one. :-/

All suggestions / comments / ideas welcome!

posted 05-25-2002 07:52 PM            

If you can link to a picture of what you are looking for, we might be able to tell you if we have come across them before.

posted 05-26-2002 05:14 AM            

You're right, "demilune" and "ravellin" are both terms which get applied somewhat loosely. :-/

In the case of both Imola and the image in the manuscript I'm looking at, I'm using "demilune" to mean "an external fortification, often half-moon-shaped, usually in the middle of the moat, and usually connected to the main castle via a small footbridge."

AIUI, ravellins are normally an external *extension* of the main castle walls - demilunes stand outside of them.

Here's a picture of (what remains of) one of Imola's Rocca Sforzesca's demilunes:
http://digilander.iol.it/castellimedievali3/Castelli%20italiani/Emilia/bologna/imola.htm

As I say, these didn't prove effective in defence, so only appeared very briefly during the 15th century (AIUI).

posted 05-26-2002 04:14 PM            

On other example for a demilune and a ravelin can you find at the France fortress "Château-fort de Salses" in the south-east of France near the Spanish border. I hope you can find a picture about these fort on internet.

Greatings

Albert

posted 05-26-2002 06:33 PM            

I have visited quite a number of castles, including a few in Northern Italy, but don't recall coming across such a structure before.

One characterisitc that square plan castles tend to have, whether in Northern Italy, Switzerland or in some cases France and Spain, is that they were built near the old village or town, and are now usually surrounded by urban development.
This usually means that the castle's immediate surrounds have been annexed for development, either a road, park or a square. I can think of quite a few castles where this is the case, which means that structures such as the moat and demilunes will have been filled in and no longer visible.

If you would like help in identifying the castle sketch you have, can you post it on the Photo Archive? The link is at the bottom of the page.

posted 05-27-2002 04:03 PM            

Some people say "ravellin", some people say "demilune" or "mezzalune" - the difference isn't actually that important. :-/

What *is* important is the likely dating (circa 1500), the structure (free-standing tower(s), standing clear of the main wall, probably in the middle of the moat, connected to the main castle by a short footbridge), and the purpose (experimental defensive structure, never really worked, never really caught on).

Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll check out Château-fort de Salses, Mirandona, Villa Nova, Sarzanello and Fossombrone ASAP. Any other suggestions?

In Imola's case, one of its two ravellins/demilunes was already partially flattened (in 1500) by Cesare Borgia (there's a Neil Jordan film about the Borgias starring Ewan McGregor scheduled for production this summer, so this is all quite timely). :-)

For other reasons, I suspect that the castle might alternatively the Abbiategrasso Castello (near Milan)... but can't find anything to prove or disprove this idea (other than its generally square shape).

May I also please ask if anyone has any references indicating how Abbiategrasso might have looked circa 1500?

posted 05-27-2002 07:42 PM            

Mirandona - I presume you mean "Mirandola", (as in Pico della Mirandola)? The first site I found was a bit, ummm, "dismissive":

The only reason for interest in Mirandola castle is the fame of its
former masters, the Pico family, since only a few remains of the fortress
have survived (the Palazzo Comunale is an imitation built in Medieval style).

posted 06-27-2002 06:24 PM            

However, I did look at a load of local belltowers, which (sorry) collectively rang a bell for me (no, I wasn't *that* ill).

In the (not-very-clear) image of a castle I posted up before, there's an apparently conical tower on top of a square tower - thinking about it, my best guess is that that is probably a belltower, so the castle is more likely to be a *monastery* than a *fortress* - ie, Abbiategrasso rather than Imola.