Digital translation of early-modern fortification models. The case of “Della fortificatione delle citta…” by Girolamo Maggi and Giacomo Fusti Castriotto

This paper presents the results of an experimentation developed within the activities of the PRIN2022 INFORTREAT research project. The project aims at the production of digital information systems to collect, translate, and transfer knowledge about the construction of bastioned fortifications found in Early Modern treatises. The ultimate goal is to create an original knowledge tool for the conservation of fortified heritage. The study focuses on Della fortificatione delle citta… by Girolamo Maggi and Giacomo Fusti Castriotto (first edition 1564). Starting from an in-depth historical analysis and the critical redrawing of the fortification models discussed in the treatise, the research applies an integrated Visual Programming Language-Building Information Modelling (VPL-BIM) methodology for the digital translation of Castriotto’s theoretical models. The work confirms the importance of the treatise within the Early Modern Italian culture. Furthermore, the parametric modeling allows us to verify and visualize Castriotto’s references and compare them to his models. It also tests the potential of the approach developed within the wider frame of the INFORTREAT project when applied to such an important treatise, where the formal and construction aspects of first-generation Italian-style fortification models are described in detail.