Detailed sheets

The ring walls

The fortress of Posada was enclosed and protected by a triple ring of walls (fig. 1). 
Only a few ruins of the outer walls are still visible, built directly on the rock and interrupted by some openings which overlook the sea (fig. 2).

1
Fig. 1 - The fortress of the castle della Fava showing the boundary walls (reconstruction by M.G. Arru, photo by Unicity S.p.A.).
2
Fig. 2 - Detail of the outer walls of the castle, built directly on the rock (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).

Past the outer walls, continuing towards the castle, the remains of a second set of walls built directly on the rock and close to the inner walls of the castle are reached. These walls, called defence walls (fig. 3), protected the fortress from the assault of war machines and had an inner path that allowed soldiers to monitor the surrounding area. On top there were the battlements, behind which the soldiers took shelter from enemy arrows in case of siege. A door allowed going beyond these walls and to continue towards the castle along a path which suddenly turned right, sandwiched between the defence walls and the inner ones.

3
Fig. 3 - Guelph-type battlements visible on top of the second ring wall (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).

The inner walls of the castle stand on the hilltop, with a perimeter wall preserved in height only along the northern side. A portal, preceded by a series of steps carved into the rock, originally allowed access to the parade ground (fig. 4). This ring wall also has the remains of Guelph-type battlements and, like the others, is built directly on the rock.

4
Fig. 4 - Elevation of the ring walls (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).

The walkways on the inner walls are still preserved, although only partially (fig. 5). These passages, which allowed keeping watch over the fortress, were probably along the sides which formed the perimeter of the parade ground, except in the stretch where the tower stands. Access to the walkway was provided by wooden stairs or through the internal structures of the parade ground.

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Fig. 5 - Section of the fortified walls with guard soldier on the walkway, protected by battlements (from VIOLLET LE DUC 2002, fig. 49, page 684).

 

Bibliografia

  • M. CADINU, Il progetto della città nella Sardegna medievale, in G. MURA, A. SANNA, Paesi e Città della Sardegna. II. Le città, Cagliari 1999, pp. 91-101.
  • M. CADINU, Urbanistica medievale in Sardegna, Roma 2001.
  • A. CASTELLACCIO, Note sul castello de La Fava di Posada, in Medioevo. Saggi e rassegne, 15, pp. 55-84.
  • G. FLORIS, Il castello medioevale della Fava (Posada), in Acta historica et archaeologica mediaevalia, 29, pp. 257-297.
  • A. SANCIU, Posada. Centro storico. Recupero di materiali archeologici, in Erentzias. Rivista della Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici per le province di Sassari e Nuoro, I, pp. 376-377.
  • E.E. VIOLLET LE DUC, Encyclopédie Médiévale, Tome I, Tours 2002.
  • G. ZIROTTU, Posada. Un borgo sardo e il suo castello, Nuoro 1999.

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