View at the Minceta Tower (1464) and 11th-century Fort Lovrijenac or Saint Lawrence Fortress in Dubrovnik,Croatia at sunrise
The Minceta Tower was built by a local builder named Nicifor Ranjina and Italian engineers sent by Pope Pius II in 1463, at the height of the Turkish threat. Originally as a strong four-sided fort, it is the most prominent point in the defensive system towards the land. The tower's name derives from the name of the Mencetic family, who owned the ground upon which the tower was built. By its height and impressive volume, the tower dominates the northwestern high part of the city and its walls. In the middle of the 15th century, around the earlier quadrilateral fort, Michelozzo built a new round tower using new warfare technique and joined it to the new system of low scarp walls. The full six-meter (20 feet) thick walls of the new tower had a series of protected gun ports. The architect and sculptor Giorgio da Sebenico of Zadar continued the work on the Minceta tower. He designed and built the high narrow round tower while the battlements are a later addition. The tower was completed in 1464 and became the symbol of the unconquerable city of Dubrovnik. Fort Lovrijenac or St. Lawrence Fortress, often called "Dubrovnik's Gibraltar", is a fortress and theater outside the western wall of the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia, 37 metres (121 ft) above sea level. Famous for its plays and importance in resisting Venetian rule, it overshadows the two entrances to the city, from the sea and by land. Early in the 11th century the Venetians attempted to build a fort on the same spot where Fort Lovrijenac currently stands. If they had succeeded, they would have kept Dubrovnik under their power, but the people of the city beat them to it. The "Chronicles of Ragusa" reveal how the fort was built within just three months time and from then on constantly reconstructed. When the Venetian ships arrived, full of materials for the construction of the fort, they were told to return to Venice. The Croatian leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series takes place in Lovrijenac.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Old Town, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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