Cittadella di Parma

History

Alessandro Farnese, who in his youth had the opportunity to learn from his father Ottavio the art of war and from the duchy's commissioner of war and artillery Francesco De Marchi (1504–1576) the principles of fortifications, decided in 1589 to build one in Parma, even though he was convinced that "the loyalty of a city was obtained not by building citadels, but by pulling them down." It was the duke himself who drew the outline of the fortress, who drew inspiration for its design from the one built by Francesco Paciotto in Antwerp. On whether he would have his plans followed to the letter, the duke was adamant, so much so that he prevented his son Ranuccio from intervening in its realization. The Citadel thus became a symbol of Parma's renewal, surpassing in prestige the Parco Ducale built by Ottavio Farnese precisely to give it greater dignity than other cities, including Piacenza.

However, upon the death of Pope Paul III, the Papal States abandoned their favorable attitude toward the construction of the Citadel. The duke nevertheless decided to proceed with the construction, partly in light of the tension with neighboring states and to resist possible invasions. Nonetheless, the Citadel was never used for defensive purposes and was soon converted into a prison, causing speculation that the duke had conceived it as a repressive tool.

In order to choose the site for the fortress, the conformation of the land was studied, looking for land that could provide materials to build it, and the arrangement of the surrounding waterways, so as to facilitate the operation of the moats. The choice thus fell on the southern part of the city, between Porta Nuova and the Stradella rampart.

The Antwerp fortress was reproduced to scale, with a smaller size due to reasons probably related to limited financial resources or location. The fortress was thus leaned against the walls, causing work to begin close to the Renaissance perimeter of the city. To follow the project, however, the bastions of Stradella and Porta Nuova were torn down. The latter, commissioned by Ottavio Farnese in 1573, was rebuilt along the perimeter of the new walls. …