Many medieval fortresses or castles were actually small fortified towns (the word castle is derived from the Latin word castrum, fort). Seen from the outside, they impressed viewers by their sheer mass, having high, thick walls of stone or sometimes brick, a single gated entrance usually with a drawbridge over a moat, and only a few small, narrow windows. Often the castle had a forecourt and second gate past the drawbridge so visitors could be closely inspected in the forecourt before being permitted to enter the castle grounds. Usually square or rectangular in shape, the earliest European fortresses were based on ancient Roman foundations. During the Middle Ages, fortified secondary and even tertiary walls of defense extended the protective sphere of the castle past the primary structure. These walls developed into the fortified city walls of many medieval towns and cities as houses, shops, schools, and other structures were built into and between the walls. Parts of the old city walls and gates are still visible across Western Europe. They are preserved almost in their entirety in historic towns such as Siena in central Italy and Dinan in northwestern France. During the Renaissance, architects had the challenge of converting sections of delapidated, war-torn, or burned city centers into more open, spacious urban environments. Private and royal palaces, with stepped approaches and symmetrical facades featuring columns or pilasters, larger windows, and fine ornamentation, created a new architectural aesthetic in Renaissance cities. The rising merchant class helped to pay for numerous private palaces while royal coffers funded the construction of many others.
World History
