The Ciudadela de Jaca, known until the 19th century as the Castillo de San Pedro, is an Italian-style fortress located in the city of Jaca. Commissioned by Felipe II in late 1592, its construction was entrusted to the Italian engineer Tiburzio Spannocchi. It was built as part of a defensive line that included the Fuerte de Santa Elena in Biescas and the Ciudadela de Pamplona. The fortress features a baroque style with stone masonry, a gallery of four arches, and a drawbridge leading to a guardhouse.
One of its pavilions houses the Museo de Miniaturas Militares, which contains 23 dioramas and over 35,000 lead figures. These artistic recreations depict military scenes ranging from the army of the Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt to the present day, with a special focus on the military history of Spain. On June 5, 2021, the General of the Army Francisco Javier Varela Salas inaugurated the 'Sala de Batallas' within the citadel, which displays the permanent exhibition 'Hechos de armas, hechos de arte'.
The fortress was built on the site of the 'Burgo Nuevo' district, where houses and convents were demolished to create a clear space around the walls. A wide and deep ditch surrounds the wall with a perimeter of 1066 meters; it was not designed to be filled with water. The citadel is reinforced at each of its five vertices by bastions named Santa Bárbara, España, San Francisco, Santa Orosia, and San Pedro. These structures were designed to protect the side walls and allow for crossfire from the casemates.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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