I ‘Torresini da Polvere’ della Repubblica di Venezia: i depositi in via Beltrami a Bergamo e del forte San Felice a Chioggia

The invention of black powder and the use of firearms mark a crucial juncture in history linked to the transition between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The Republic of Venice soon understood the strategic importance of the invention. The Arsenal of Venice was one of the first factories in the powerful mixture. Its production was under the direct control of the Council of Ten, the supreme authority of the Serenissima. The storage of the gunpowder took place inside small, unusual and cu- rious buildings characterised by a particular pyramid roof. Their perfect geometry, highlighted by the simplicity of the volumes, testifies to that rigour that never fails in military architecture, not even in small subsidiary depots where it would have been possible to indulge in ornamental digressions. This essay, within a broader study of documenting and cataloguing the few surviving testimonies, focuses its attention on two particularly significant case studies - the powderhouses of via Beltrami in Bergamo and Forte San Felice in Chioggia - to highlight their eculiarities and their conservation and enhancement potentials.