The influence of military, political and economic conditions on the townscape and town walls

The first recognizable fortification in the town of Civitella dates back to the Angevin period, when Charles I decided to modify the set-up of the defences of the kingdom by strengthening some castles. Along the south-west side of the town walls, between the gates of Porta delle Vigne and Porta S. Antonio, vestiges of the Angevin town walls can still be seen. The existence during that period of three small towers along the curtain walls has been demonstrated: the first, located near Porta delle Vigne, is still in a good state of preservation, has a diameter of 5 m and a slight scarp rising up to a third of the height of the construction; traces of the second tower can be seen near Porta delle Vene - no longer there today; and there is only cartographic evidence of the third tower.
As in many other Italian towns, especially during the second half of the 16th century, the medieval walls were adapted to new defensive requirements. The walls were lowered to defilade them from direct fire, earthworks were built on the internal sides to provide better resistance to artillery shots, and new bastions were built into the corners and into the longest rectilinear stretches. The layout remained almost unchanged, as it was set out on top of a travertine layer.
An illustration of these works is shown in an engraving dated 26th May 1557, entitled “Il vero Disegno di Civitella con li forti, e trinciare, e artiglieria, in l’una parte e l’altra come al presente se ritrova a dì 26 maggio 1557” (“A true drawing of Civitella showing its fortress, trenches, artillery bastions and other fortification works as it is on 26th May 1557”). Appointed by the Spanish viceroy, the marquis of Trevico, governor of the lands of Abruzzi, ordered fortification of the walls around Porta Piazza, with the construction of a tower and two bastions, the first with a pentagonal base and the second with a square base. The remainder of the town walls was flanked with Angevin towers. On the west side, the town walls joined up with the rocky crag at the other town gate and a guardroom. At the extreme opposite end, the town walls joined the walls of the 15th century Aragonese castle, residence of the castle lord and seat of royal administrative power. In an engraving of 1557, this is shown with a rectangular layout and four cylindrical bastions at the corners with a scarp.
Resistance to the French siege of 1557, convinced the king of Spain, Philip II of Habsburg, to build a new fortress in Civitella which, together with the stronghold of Pescara and the fort in Aquila, became one of the tactical points of the defensive assets of the vice-royalty of Abruzzi. The town walls, on the other hand, remained in a state of abandonment until 1770.
The development of the layout of the fortress, with an irregular and elongated shape, was due to the principles of the fortifying techniques in the first half of the 16th century. This can be noted in particular in the type of bastions on the east side, and in the need to adapt the walls to the particular nature of the place. The masonry works were built to guarantee artillery flanking fire and two consecutive defensive fronts were created with identical flanking systems. The first defensive front consisted of the S. Paolo and S. Pietro bastions. The latter - the lowest in the fortress - ensured flank shots against the enemy batteries. The second defensive front, consisting of bastions overlooking the drill-ground, was an inner defence for the fortress and was also its last bulwark.
The fortress construction works presumably began in 1559, and lasted for some decades. The skilled Lombard workers were important for the building work: magistri vagantes (wandering masters) established themselves in nearby Ascoli from the second half of the 13th century, progressively replacing the local masons. The travertine used by the Lombard stone-cutters, especially for window and door decoration, came from the Acquasanta quarries in a village close to Ascoli, and was preferred to the Civitella travertine as it was more compact.
Between 1639 and 1711, the fortress mainly underwent maintenance work.
The first interventions on the fortress by the Bourbons are shown in a layout drawing can be dated between 1734 and 1770, by an unknown author. They were carried out between 1763 and 1779 and also regarded setting up the first drill-ground with works constructed in front of the bastions which bordered them on one side.
Some work done to strengthen the ring of walls was completed in 1801: the defences of Porta Piazza were increased by building the bastions of S. Ubaldo and S. Lorenzo, surrounded by a moat and with a new gate with a drawbridge between them. These fortifications, which were too close to the town walls, were taken down after the French siege in 1806. The only remains of these works can be seen near the church of S. Lorenzo. In fact, these fortifications were not only damaged by cannon shot and by partial dismantling by the French, but also by the damage caused by the explosion of the powder magazine which was struck by lightning. This caused partial collapse of the false curtain shelter on the southern side and shocks which severely damaged the northern part.
Between 1806 and 1819 the fortress was not used because it was in a state of ruin. The soldiers were lodged in houses around the town. At the beginning of 1821, the fortress was partially restored, but without any great modifications to the original plan of the 1500s: the new works were limited to laying out the moat around the S. Pietro bastion, construction of an external casemate, not only to protect an existing gate, but also needed for artillery near the moat, and organisation of the S. Andrea bastion on two floors at different levels, consequently sacrificing the old side which characterized it. The fortress was involved to a greater extent by the intervention to restore the roofs of the barracks and reconversion of the governor’s palace – the old residence of the lord of the castle – into officers’ lodgings.
In 1874, with further strengthening of the town walls, a new pentagonal bastion was built near Porta S. Antonio to allow shooting down onto the countryside below.
The town wall was a fundamental factor in the defence of Civitella until its last capitulation in 1861. After the Piedmontese siege the fortress was partially dismantled, as well as slow stripping of the buildings in the quarter by the inhabitants of Civitella. The town walls were partly destroyed during the first decades of the 20th century and when works were done to widen some of the streets.
The last radical restoration intervention between1973 and 1983 was carried out by the “Abruzzi Monuments and Fine Arts Office”. The complex operations involved the whole fortress, and led to widespread reconstruction of many parts of it.
During recent excavation works to construct a mechanized way up, the round tower was destroyed. This tower, together with the pentagonal bastion, was the defence of the main gate built by the Marquis of Trevico in 1557.