Cinta fortificata: prima cerchia

The first ring of walls at this site is no mere circuit of stone. It is a nine-pointed star, a geometry of defence laid out across the earth. Nine arrowhead-shaped bastions, each a packed rampart of stone and brick, project from the curtain walls. Between them, the straight terrepleins link one bastion to the next, and at the centre of three of these runs a gate: Porta Cividale, Porta Udine, and Porta Marittima, the three original points of entry.

Above the walls, eighteen cavaliers, raised earthwork platforms, sit at the ends of the curtains, giving a clear view over the surrounding countryside. Below, at the level of the fosse, a deep ditch, dry or water-filled, runs the false braga, a parallel earthwork with a short central gallery. It is a complete, intelligent system: a star-shaped plan not for show, but for sightlines, crossfire, and control.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.