- Terra del Sole
Terra del Sole was a town constructed in
1564 for Cosimo I de’ Medici byBaldassarre Lanci ofUrbino . It is situated in theProvince of Forlì-Cesena It was one of the first fortified cities to be constructed entirely from new on a plannedgrid system. Meaning Town of the Sun it was conceived to be the ideal town of theRenaissance period.Designed on a rectangular plan, with a square inner wall with a
bastion at each corner. Terra del Sole was not just a residential town, but also had a strong defence to meet any onslaught that may have arisen following the recent invention, and common use offireams inmilitary attacks. In places the walls are 9 metres thick. Within the walls (2087 metres wide and 12,36 metres high) are symmetrical settlements divided by streets. Two smallcastle s within the walls were the strongholds of the "Captain of the Artillery" and the "Governor of the City". The four quarters of the town were named Santa Maria, Santa Reparata, Sant’Andrea and San Martino.The central
piazza was named "Piazza d’Armi", and was enclosed by the principal public buildings of - Church of Santa Reparata, the Palazzo del Provveditore, the Palazzo della Cancelleria , other civic buildings, and the Palazzo Pretorio (today theMuseum of Man and the Environment)The town still stands and today has a population of 6,096, while small clusters of houses have sprung up outside its walls, the town as conceived by Cosimo de' Medici is still very evident.
External links
* [http://www.terradelsole.org/indexterradelsole.htm Aerial photograph of Terra del Sole.]
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