La cinta magistrale asburgica

The Majestic Hasburg City Walls of Verona, Scaliger and Venetian, suffered  war damages and destructions during the conflicts between the French and the Austrian armies. The reconstruction was decided in 1827, and the works were assigned to Franz Von Scholl, one the major military architects of the Hasburg Empire, though he was German from Aquisgrana, but adopted by Verona. He will be our guide in this tour to discover the Majestic Circle of Walls along the left bank of river Adige.

We meet him at Porta Vittoria, nearby the monumental cimitery, where he is buried. The 19th century austrian restoration works involved all the perimeter of the Majestic Circle Walls, by restoring Scaliger and Venetian works. We will consider only the most significant works and the architectural innovations required by the new war systems.

Passed the Pellegrini’s battery, between the gate of Porta Vittoria and of Via Università, which is nowadays partly filled in, the intervention on the 16th century Campo Marzo bastion shows right away the new war time needs, including a sortie defended by a trunnion. The 1800’s city walls didn’t have to hermetically closed like in the past, in order to allow the way out of the army for the counter-offensives.

Continuing along the outer perimeter of the walls, along via Torbido, we suddenly see the porta di Campofiore, where the trains loaded with corn entered to supply the silos of the Provianda di Santa Marta. The magnificent Provianda, of romanic-gothic tendency, was to be used to produce bread, buiscuit and other victuals for the troops of the entire Quadrilateral. Few more steps adn we reach the restored bastione delle Maddalene, with additional parts in the same style of the 16th century work.

Keeping alongside of the city walls for about 300 meters, we arrive at Porta Vescovo which deserves to be visited as it is a good example of a 16th century city gate and its later further development which respect the earlier facade. The side facing the city was renewed in Rundbogen style (round arch) used in the whole Austrian Empire.

As we get out of the sortie, on the left side of the bastione Santa Toscana, we go up the vallum going through via Caroto till the Batteries of Controscarpa and Scarpa, both built on Franz von Scholl’s. Especially the sencond one, the Batteria di Scarpa is important as it is a small ingenious military masterpiece, for which the circular design was kept, which is a caracteristic of the Venetian rondelle.

On the Scaliger towers, some important works of restauration were made during the Habsburg age. A complete reastauration has transfomed the fortress of Castel San Felice, which a French bombardment had turned it into ruins, into a more modern and efficient building. We keep going with no more stops along the green path which runs internally along the Majestic Walls.

Of Castel San Pietro some remains of the visount castle are left and which we can enter from a ramp on the right hand side of the street. The southern side of the castle which was overlooking the city and which included Saint Peter’s church, was demolished and replaced by a Habsburg barrack.

We now go downhill towards the plain by a stairway leading to Ponte Pietra, or returning to the breach of the street and continuing along the city walls. After the venetian rondelle of Bacola and Boccare, we arrive at Porta San Giorgio.

The most complicated work by Franz von Scholl was the complete remaking of this fortification: the rondelle, the curtains, the rivellino, the galleries of controscarpa. The problems caused by nearby rises and by the river were solved by some clever cunning which deserve to be seen and explained.

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