The star-shaped fortress city
In the middle of the Friulian plain, between Udine and the sea, Palmanova is one of the most extraordinary examples of Renaissance urban planning in the world: a fortress city with the perfect shape of a nine-pointed star, which, seen from above, looks like a geometric drawing or a snowflake. It was founded by the Republic of Venice on 7 October 1593, the anniversary of the victory of Lepanto, to defend the eastern borders of the Venetian territory against the Ottoman Turks and the Habsburgs, and was designed according to the most advanced theories of military architecture of the time, as an "ideal city" where every element had a precise function. Its walls, bastions and moats were built in three successive rings, by the Venetians, then by the French under Napoleon.
The city is entered through three monumental gates, the Porta Udine, the Porta Cividale and the Porta Aquileia, from which straight streets lead to the centre, the vast Piazza Grande, a hexagonal square from which six radial streets branch out, overlooked by the Cathedral, the palaces of the Venetian governors and statues of the superintendents of the fortress. A walk along the ramparts, or in the moats, through the green spaces between the bastions, allows you to appreciate the grandeur of the fortifications. Since 2017, Palmanova has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries". In the Museo Storico Militare and the Museo Civico, the history of the fortress is told.
Tip: walk or cycle along the ramparts for the best view of the star; look at aerial photos to see the perfect star shape.
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