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I have now started some research on my next project which is Castello Argonese also known as Castel san Angelo.
Fortunately Brigade models do an almost correct model of the fort, but as my research brought to light there is a bit missing from the model which was still extant in the late 17 and early 18 hundreds.
https://sailsofglory.org/attachment....id=58383&stc=1
Here is the actual castle as it looks today.
This may be of special interest to Dobbs who also has the castle on order.
The Castle of Taranto, called Castel S. Angelo, is located near an ancient natural depression of the rock bank above which stands the ancient village of the city and consists basically in an Aragonese reconstruction of a previous Norman-Swabian-Angevin fortress built in the same point but having very different characteristics.
The medieval castle in fact had numerous tall and thin towers and was built over a previous Byzantine fortification which had its foundations resting on structures dating back to the Greek period (IV-III century a.c.). The improvement of artillery in the fifteenth century, made the medieval castles obsolete because their thin walls could no longer resist against the cannons of attackers nor allow their use by the defenders.
The conquest of Otranto by the Turks in 1480 clearly demonstrated that this type of fortification was now inadequate. The king of Naples, Ferdinando d 'Aragona, therefore decided to reinforce the coastal defenses of the kingdom. In this context, between 1487 and 1492, the Castle of Taranto was rebuilt following perhaps the specific project of the great Sienese architect Francesco di Giorgio. The new castle had a vaguely reminiscent shape that of a scorpion with five round towers located at the corners of the building. These towers lower and wider than the previous ones, received the name of S. Cristoforo, San Lorenzo and Sant 'Angelo for the three facing the current waterway, while the two opposite the ancient village were called Annunziata and Bandiera.
Towers and walls were the same height, 21 meters, and almost the same thickness, about 8 meters; all the towers had a diameter of 18 meters except San Cristoforo which was 10 meters wider. Towards the Great Sea, in agreement with the probable project of Francesco di Giorgio, a triangular strut was added in 1491 (a true prototype of the 16th century bastion, mistakenly called a ravelin), to reinforce the southern curtain and improve the defense capacity flanking the access to the moat that was expanded to connect the Great Sea with the Mar Piccolo. The fortifications of the fifteenth century had high aesthetic qualities but a rather ephemeral military validity due to the rapid progress of the artillery. The Spaniards, who succeeded the Aragonese in 1502, expanded the summit platforms to facilitate the movement and use of artillery. I believe that it was at this time that the square tower behind the south curtain wall to the rear of the Bastion was removed.
They also filled many of the intramural tunnels and the upper casemates of the towers with earth to reinforce them and to obtain positions for the artillery on the top of the towers. Despite the Spanish interventions, the fortress lost progressively military validity and after having played a fundamental role, in many battles, rejecting in particular the Turkish assault in 1594, it ended up being used as a prison and as a barracks. This different use led to the fragmentation of the interior rooms with the closure of passages and corridors. In addition to this, the increased residential needs combined with the low cost of plaster and cement, have led to the massive use of these materials to cover walls and floors in order to improve the hygienic conditions. The castle, however, remained substantially intact except for the tower of S. Angelo, demolished in 1883 to make room for the revolving bridge.
You can see this shown clearly on this model and also on the old maps and drawing of the older incarnation of the fort.
And so another project begins with a scratch built extension to the existing fort to get it back to its 1800 incarnation.
Rob.
Turning the tower yesterday.
With the tower now done I am starting to shape the Batter part of the walls.
Looking pretty fine, Rob! I will be copying your example!
Here is the next phase done today.
Tower added to the battered part of the wall section, and slot cut in the back of the tower battlements. I had drilled a hole where the cross is on the preeceeding picture, and put a rod in the middle of the tower to locate it prior to glue being added.
Can I piggyback on your research, Rob? Do you have a link for that Floorplan, or a PDF?
Here is a link to the castle map from the 17th Cent Dobbs.
https://www.siderlandia.it/2.0/alla-...se-di-taranto/
HISTORY OF TARANTO.
In 1746 Taranto had 11,526 inhabitants. All of them were packed in the small island, among a high number of religious institutes and churches. Francesco Antonio Calo', a Tarentine nobleman, started in 1765 with two statues the Mysteries of the Holy Week celebrations. They are today the most important and attended event of Taranto.
After the defeat of Ferdinand IV of Naples at Monteregio and the subsequent Peace of Florence, in 1801 the French general Nicolas Soult occupied with 13,000 soldiers the provinces of Bari, Lecce and the harbour of Taranto. Napoleon wanted to build a stronghold to keep under observation the British base of Malta. On 23 April 1801, 6,000 French soldiers of the Armée d'observation du midi entered in Taranto (20.000 inhabitants at the time) and fortified it in order to obtain "a sort of Gibitrair" (Napoleon). On 25 March 1802, France and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens, which required France to leave South Italy, but after UK declaration of war against France, the Armée d'observation du midi returned to Taranto, under the command of general Laurent Gouvion de Saint Cyr, on 23 May 1803. Among the French officers in Taranto, there is also the novelist Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, artillery general and fortification expert, who died in Taranto on 5 September 1803. On 15 February, Joseph Bonaparte became King of Naples, and on 3 May visited the fortifications of Taranto. The presence of the French troops and defensive works benefited the Tarentine economy. In 1805 the Russian fleet, allied with the British, remained there for several months.
On March 30, 1806, Bonaparte's decree created Tarente (the French name for the city) one of six hereditary duchés grand-fiefs in the satellite kingdom of Naples, awarded to maréchal MacDonald in 1809 (line extinguished 1912).
With the fall of Napoleon and the defeat of Joachim Murat at the battle of Tolentino, Southern Italy and Taranto returned under the Bourbon dynasty's rule, forming the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Here is the extended works glued up and just awaiting the top floor with the wallwork tomorrow.
Last evening I added the top floor with the battlements, before the Covid struck me.
This is what the end of this stage looks like. Next is the Bridge to the island with the town. If i feel up to it I will continue with this, but I may not be very coherent when I post my info for a day or so as I have a right royal headache.
Rob.
What are you using for material Rob? It doesn't appear to be foam.
Sorry to hear you have Covid. My wife seems to be coming down with it as well. She has the same headache and a developing cough.
I hope you get well soon, Rob!
That is white craft foam Vol. I usually use blue, but could not obtain it in 10mm thick so had to resort to this. It seems even more dense than the blue.Quote:
Originally Posted by Volunteer
Rob.
Thanks Jonas.Quote:
Originally Posted by TexaS
I am feeling a bit better today, as the temp is down and my cough is not so persistant.
Rob.
Just in the nick of time to get started this month the rest of my Brigade order arrived today.
I have now laid out a rough idea of how the town will look.
Rob.
Wow, Rob! I'm definitely going to have to struggle to keep up with mine! (Can I beg you to share your historical documents, pleease!):happy:
I certainly will Dobbs, although they are not nearly as comprehensive as the Dubrovnik ones were. For one, the town walls are now non extant, and very few traces remain. Much development of the island has been done including the water frontage. Also the two period maps which I have managed to get hold of contradict each other. Thus a lot of my design work will be based on some evidence, then interpolating the maps as a best guess based on them, and the usual usage and fortifications of the area. Oh! for something like the wall walking tour clips of Dubrovnik.
Post two, nine, and ten give you all the written details I have, and I will forward to you any other pictures which I have found.
Rob.