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Palmanova, Italy's rising star

Written on : 22 January 2021
By : Chloé Girod

The incredible city of Palmanova, located in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in north-eastern Italy, represents the ideal of a fortified town. Only 1h10 from the romantic city of Venice, you will be impressed by the amazing architecture of this nine-pointed star-shaped city built by the Venetian Republic in 1593, at the end of the Renaissance. 
 
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Palmanova, Italy's rising star

 
Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the Republic of Venice built several fortified towns to defend their precious trade routes against the Ottomans and aggression from Northern Europe. The city's defences were so impregnable that during the Napoleonic domination, Napoleon continued to use them until the end of 1700, after which the Austrians settled there during the First World War. Today, the Italian army still has a garrison there. 
The Italian city is surrounded by a moat with three large gates at the entrance and is a real jewel of defence with its large fortress consisting of 9 ravelins, 9 bastions, 9 lunettes and 18 horsemen. 
 
You will find several fortified towns in Croatia such as Bergamo, Peschiera del Garda, Zadar and Sibenik as well as in Montenegro with Kotor, but Palmanova remains the star of these towns with its very particular star shape, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi. Its fortifications were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017. 
 
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Moreover, its construction is no coincidence: during the Renaissance, Thomas More's famous philosophy advocated a utopian society that demanded geometric harmony in the design of public spaces and buildings. Thus, living spaces were protected, bringing aesthetic comfort as well as health and satisfaction to citizens. The city is therefore in harmony with this philosophy and blends perfectly into the hilly Italian landscape. 
 
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Although Palmanova has been an example of architecture throughout the region, very few people have settled there, Venice has even been forced to pardon criminals and offer them building land to settle in the city. Even today the city is still mainly visited by tourists and is astonishing for its architectural homogeneity, the buildings are of the same colour and size, which is rather rare when it is a city of several centuries. 
 
It also hosts many events and festivals such as the great Palmanova Festival which takes place during the first week of September where 800 actors dress in period costumes to relive the war between Austria and the Republic of Venice in 1615. An event not to be missed if you love history and great shows! 

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