The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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cannons, and these were the main threats for other transport ships and for the ports that contained the as-

tounding riches of the Americas that needed to be kept secure.

During the periods immediately following, and through a process that would continue throughout the

entire sixteenth century, the evolution of military strategies saw changes in ballistics and offensive models in

general due to attack practices that favored a quicker system of movement, as such reducing the size of the

weapons, the range, and most importantly for our considerations the trajectory of the cannon projectiles.

The trajectory of the cannonball depended on the range. Therefore, the slope of the curtains of walls was

calculated from the point where fire was opened. Based on the modern styles, the footprint of the walls had to

be as perpendicular as possible to the firing of the cannon, which when perforating the surface of the curtain

penetrated the masonry to then wane in force and be absorbed by the density of the walls full of inert material.

The transformations under which the Antonelli family operated nevertheless involved a first phase, in

which it was necessary to adapt the medieval style defensive systems to the new features associated with mod-

Images of the Ozama

Fortress, the principal

fortified monument

of Santo Domingo

and the only medieval

style fortress in the

Americas, taken

together with the

adjacent lower battery.

Collectively, the tower

and the battery trace

the evolution of the

defensive system

along the course of

the Ozama River,

displaying the main

features of the two

moments in history

that represent the

process of colonization

and fortification of

the city.

Opening page:

View of the Torre del

Homenaje

or The

Tower of Homage,

from the lower battery.

In particular, the space

in front of the battery

is now separated

from the city and the

river by a more recent

curtain of walls, built

at the beginning of the

last century to afford

greater monumentality

to the capital’s

military system.

The concrete wall,

rather deteriorated

and ruined in spite

of its historization,

today seems to be

both an obstacle for

the utilization of the

colonial walls as well

as an opportunity to

define the residual

spaces that could be

used as exhibition

or tourist areas,

completing the

museum experience

of the Ozama Fortress

complex.