The Art of Fortification in the XVI—XVIII centuries: Pragmatic, Ideal and Symbolic Meanings

The paper deals with underinvestigated problems of the «trace italienne» fortification in Europe and Russia during XVI — ​XVIII centuries. The bastioned fortresses are traditionally considered to be exceptionally functional buildings free of any artistic meaning. The author examines the material of treatises on architecture and fortification (especially those of the XVI — ​XVII centuries) in order to prove that during the Renaissance the configuration of a fortress was directly connected with neo-platonic ideas of the heavenly harmony and perfection. During the XVII century that idea was replaced by the idea of the ratio. And more than this: the idea of the geometrical perfection of a bastioned perimeter was closely connected with the idea of power symbolized by fortress.