Verona defensive system

History

Since its founding, the city of Verona has played a prominent role as the center of connections between east and west and north and south. In particular, its location at the mouth of the Adige Valley, the main communication route between Italy and Germany, allowed those in control of this position to be able to assert themselves in the nearby Lombard and Veneto territories. As a result of this relevance due to its peculiar geographical location and its topographical and economic characteristics, as early as the Roman era Verona became a strategic, well-fortified center, the crossroads of three consular roads: the Via Claudia Augusta, which connected the Danube with the Po, the Via Postumia and the Via Gallica, which connected Aquileia with Genoa and Turin, respectively.

Over the centuries, a conspicuous heritage of fortified structures was stratified, many of which are still preserved: of the pre-Roman period only limited evidence is preserved, but the vestiges of Roman domination are notable; of the medieval age, numerous works built in particular under the rule of the Della Scala family are preserved, attesting to how advanced Scala's military art was and what political weight the Veronese state managed to achieve, although there is also no lack of evidence of the brief domination of the Visconti; finally, the fortification works carried out during the Venetian period, when the imposing bastioned curtain wall surrounding the city was completed, were fundamental. …

Logistics

Between the mid-1830s and 1866, a plan for the gradual insertion of military buildings and establishments, intended for the various activities and logistical needs of the Habsburg army, was implemented in the urban core of Verona because of the strategic function that Field Marshal Radetzky had assigned to the city. In addition, after the War of 1848–1849, Verona became a vital center of the Quadrilateral fortification apparatus: the three advanced strongholds of Peschiera, Mantua and Legnago were responsible for the operational combat functions, as maneuver strongholds, while the city of Verona, in addition to its function as a maneuver stronghold, played the role of a depot stronghold, as its fortificatory arrangement guaranteed the Austrian army a support base for tactical retreats, offensive returns and war maneuvers. Finally, the city's geographical location, in direct road and rail connection with the center of the Habsburg monarchy, and its position in the theater of war, protected from the other advanced strongholds of the Quadrilatero, gave Verona the special characteristics necessary to stand as a depot stronghold. …

Consequences for the local economy

The effects of such a high military presence in the city were naturally seen on the economic component as well. The historiography of the Risorgimento gave a negative view of that aspect, considering the building sector unimportant and emphasizing the difficulties of the manufacturing sector, more likely related to the increase in taxation and the diseases that affected the grapevine and the silkworm. Instead, it seems more likely, from the evidence of the period, that business increased considerably and that there was widespread prosperity.

Construction was one of the leading sectors, as the imperial garrison needed a whole range of services and works related to the construction, restoration, maintenance and preservation of all structures intended for military use. One of the main contractors was the Veronese Luigi Trezza, to whom the military entrusted construction sites, even of considerable importance, the largest of which was the construction of the "Franz Josef I" artillery arsenal, the estimated cost of which as of 1854 was as much as 2821500 Austrian liras. He was not, however, the only one to benefit from this situation: if in 1836 there were only 13 building contractors in Verona, by 1852 this had reached the considerable figure of 42 firms.

The real estate market also underwent a revolution, both to meet the housing needs of soldiers and the need for office space. Renting became a particularly lucrative practice for private individuals (but there was also greater income for the contractors who carried out the housing renovations and for the artisans and merchants who supplied the furnishings): officers, coming mostly from noble families, sought housing suited to their needs and status; lower-ranking soldiers often found placement by landlords or in private lodgings or premises; finally, many properties were rented out to meet the need for offices and barracks.

In addition to housing, soldiers also needed basic necessities, clothing and accessories, thus contributing to the enrichment of town merchants. Within a few years, places of entertainment increased considerably in number, in a far greater proportion than the growth of the civilian population: from 1822 to 1861, distilleries, cafes, taverns, inns, hotels and billiard halls grew from 466 to 559 establishments. …