Palmanova City Fortress
The only example of a city of foundation still intact in its form of a nine-pointed star, Palmanova is one of the most important models of military architecture in the modern age, with its star plan formed by three concentric walls, two of them built by the Serenissima Republic of Venice made up of nine bulwarks and nine ravelins and a third, the most external, made up of nine “lunette”, added by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century.
From July 9, 2017, Palmanova is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – 53rd Italian site of the list. Since 2018, one of the most beautiful borough in Italy.
The architect's Walk
Itinerary n.1 - 1,5 km - 45 min.Palmanova is one of the most successful models of “ideal fortress city” actually built. Its star-shaped plan, with nine points, is in fact a hymn to perfection and urban symmetry. The access to the city, through three gates, was designed to immediately enjoy a very deep sight: with a single glance it is possible to reach the heart of Palmanova, the Big Square. This perfectly hexagonal square, arrival point of any path that starts from the gates, could not better represent the idea of design perfection at the base of the entire fortress city.
Walk in the Bastioni Park
Itinerary n.2 - 3,5 km - 120 min.Palmanova, shaped as a nine-pointed star for military and defense purposes, it was conceived as a real war machine: the number and size of its bulwarks were in fact established according to the range of the cannons of the time. While walking in the Park of the Bastions you can observe the perfect geometry of the defense structures and discover the galleries that allowed the troops to move or defend the fortress.
Ring of Fortifications
Itinerary n.3 - 4,3 km - 150 min.Bastions of the Fortress City offer walks suitable for families or sportsmen. Immersed in nature and history, it will be possible to walk, ride a bike (even mountain bike), ride a horse or go Nordic walking, along the ring of fortifications, among the city walls, among waterfalls, tunnels and galleries, ramparts and flatlands. In the four kilometers of ring around the walls, it is possible to discover the natural ecosystem of the Bastioni Historical Park, walk between the fortifications, admiring bastions, ravelins and lunettes, the moat, the galleries and the three monumental Gates.
