Nova Palmae Civitatis – trace italienne

A trace italienne or bastion fort denotes a style of fortification that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder. The design of bastion forts as a pentagon or hexagon and with bastions at the corners of the wall eliminated so-called blind spots or dead zones (as were common to ring-shaped fortifications) and allowed fire on attackers from protected positions. The trace italienne was a response to the increasing threat of cannons dominating the battlefield in the mid-15th century.

---

Nova Palmae Civitatis, map, ca. 16th century, unknown artist; source: Georg Braun et al. (ed.): Civitates orbis terrarvm (5): Vrbivm Praecipvarvm Mundi Theatrvm Qvintvm: [Coloni[a]e Agrippin[a]e. 20. die Septemb. Anno M.DC.XVII.] — [Coloniae Agrippinae], [1599?] [VD16 B 7183] [VD17 12:656254M], digital copy: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, Heidelberger historische Bestände – digital, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.