The present town walls -the most recent of the city ramparts that defended Lucca- still surround the historical city centre with an uninterrupted path of 4,200 metres. At the beginning of the 16th c, the town began to feel the need of a new ring of walls, aiso in consideration of the expansionistic policy of the Medici who aimed at making Florence the capital town of a wider state than how it had been until then. To attain their goal the Florentines would have submitted the last independent state-towns with their strength. Consequently, a great number of military architects were successively charged of the planning ana the execution of the new town walls which have been kept practically intact to the present days, Captain Jacopo Seghizzi, also called Frate da Modena- was the first to be contacted. He began the construction of the first two earth-filled bastions (La Liberia -the Freedom- and San Colombano), He was succeeded by Baldassarri Lanci from Urbino, Vincenzo Civitali from Lucca and Alessandro Resta from Milan who was the maker of Porta San Pietro (St. Peter`s Gate) carried out in 1566, In 1589, the Offizio delle Fortificazioni della cittae delta Stato (Office of City and State Fortifications) approved the project proposed by Alessandro Farnese, the Governor of the Flanders and one of the most expert military engineers of that time. His design included the erection of eleven bastions with square corners thus strengthening all the defensive system of the town. A subsequent change was operated by the; Engineer Ginese Bresciani, who worked for Alessandro Farnese. He gave the bast on corners a round shape and aiso provided for the opening of sortite (sally ports) in thoir flanks rather than in the curtains. When Bresciani grew too old he left his position to Pietro Vagnarelli who carried on the direction of the building up of the walls for the following 14 years. He accomplished the erection of the bastions of Santa Croce, La Liberia, San Colombano and San Paoiino. Several more consultations from different architects followed Vagnarei`s work and eventually from 1645 to 1650 Paolo Lipparelli accomplished the construction of the outer fortifications, thus completing the building up of town wails. This grand engineering work of great effect is composed of twelve curtain walls, ten bastions aoo one platform, San Frediano. The walls are more than 10 metres tall, and up to 30 metres thick at the base. Until 1799,They were defended by 126 cannons which were taken away by the Austrians during their withdrawal. On the bastions there are still the casermette (barracks) which once provided the soldiers a shelter whereas today they are used for cultural and social activities. The original gates were San Pietro, San Donate and Santa Maria, while Porta Elisa had being built by Elisa Baciocchi at the beginning of the 19th century. On the contrary, Porta Vittorio Emanuele (also called Sant`Anna) and the smallest, Porta San Jacopo, are of the 20th century whose opening was determined by the increasing traffic flows. ... (Apt Lucca)