Uponthe fall
of Costantinople in 1453,by theTurks,the Adriatic was pray to the
Muslim incursions,who also managed to assailthe port of Recanati,threatening
the very city of Loreto,It wasdue to this threat
that a decision was made to build a mighty city wall,in order to
discourage any eventual attackers. THe paln is owed to Antonio da
Sangallo(1517-20)and it was executed thanks to Cristoforo Resse
from Imola.The two bastions at porta Romana and porta Marina are
masterpieces of military engineering of the 1500's.The smokescreen
was equipped with 26 falconets and a Lauretan army of experts in
artillery,along with a company of infrantrymen and a company of
armoured horsemen.In the year 1620 the two beautiful pentagonal
bastions were added by the architect Giovanni Branca.The election
of Sisto V to pontiff in 1585 meant the lauching of a plan which
aimed at making Loreto an ideal city .Outside the city walls the
constrution of the"borgo sistino"(MontereaLE) got underwey
thanks to the work of the architect Pompeo Floriani who on the model
of the Roman castrum,with a diminished development,foresaw a chequer-board
plan encircled by walls,the project was not completed but today
one can still admire the beautiful noble buildings on the axis of
Porta Romana.A final grandiose example of architecture was the aqueduct
which was commissioned upon request of Paolo V and realised in 1605
by
Domenico Fontant and Carlo Maderno,a real masterpiece of hydraulic
engineering.To this aqueduct,an extraordinary network of beautiful
fountainis are connected,in all of the that allow acces to the city,quench
the thirst of thepilgrims arriving at the sanctuary.A great tradition
devoted to the of millions of pilgrims is the date of istitution
of the hospital which dates from 1465,which gives comfort with its
presence to the needs of the devout. |
A.
DA SANGALLO - C.RESSE: BASTION OF PORTA ROMANA
A
DRAWING OF THE UNREALISEDIDEAL CITY OF SISTO V
CARLO
MADERO, DOMENICO FONTANA: ACQUEDUCT
FONTE
DEL CARPINE |
 |
|
