A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements. Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Walls of Benin, Hadrian's Wall, Anastasian Wall, the Cyclopean Wall Rajgir and the metaphorical Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial boundaries. In mountainous terrain, defensive walls such as letzis were used in combination with castles to seal valleys from potential attack. Beyond their defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions – representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced.
Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is around 49,500 but the urban area of the city has more than 100,000.
Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa, is a town and comune in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the plateau of the Murgia which dominates the Ofanto valley and the extensive plains of Tavoliere delle Puglie, ranging from Mount Vulture at the Gargano, to the Adriatic coast. Canosa, the Roman Canusium, is considered the principal archaeological center of Apulia, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in Italy. A number of vases and other archaeological finds are located in local museums and private collections. It is not far from the position on the Ofanto River where the Romans found refuge after the defeat of the Battle of Cannae and is the burial place of Bohemund I of Antioch.
Enna is a city and comune located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has earned the nicknames belvedere and ombelico (navel) of Sicily.
The Province of L'Aquila is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated province of the Abruzzo region of Southern Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It has borders with the provinces of Teramo to the north, Pescara and Chieti to the east, Isernia to the south and Frosinone, Rome and Rieti to the west. Its capital is the city of L'Aquila.
Formello is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome. It is located southwest of the Monti Sabatini, within the Regional Park of Veii. The communal territory is mostly composed by tuff, and is intensively cultivated.
Cetona is a town and comune in the southern part province of Siena, Tuscany, in an area where Umbria and Lazio meet.
Fiuggi is a comune (municipality) in the province of Frosinone in the region of Lazio in central Italy. The town of Fiuggi became famous for its Acqua di Fiuggi which flows from its natural springs and mountains. The water has been used in Italy since as early as the 14th century and is famous for its natural healing properties.
Civitella Messer Raimondo is a town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with a population of 890. It is part of the mountain community of Aventino-Medio Sangro. Until 1863, it was known only as Civitella.
Bugnara is a comune and village in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. In 2007, it was designated as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, an association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest.
Roccacasale is a comune in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Built on the slopes of the Monte della Rocca in the central Apennines, the village overlooks the Peligna Valley and the town of Sulmona.
Bernalda is a town and comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. The frazione of Metaponto is the site of the ancient city of Metapontum.
Ruvo di Puglia is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, that is essentially devoted to agriculture, wine and olive growing. It is part of the Murge karst landscape.
Malcesine is a comune (municipality) on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 kilometres northwest of Venice and about 40 kilometres northwest of Verona.
Castel dell'Ovo is a seaside castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in the Middle Ages as a great sorcerer and predictor of the future. In the legend, Virgil put a magical egg into the foundations to support the fortifications. Had this egg been broken, the castle would have been destroyed and a series of disastrous events for Naples would have followed. The castle is located between the districts of San Ferdinando and Chiaia, facing Mergellina across the sea.
Valmontone is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 45 kilometres southeast of Rome.
Paz is a village and ruined castle in Istria County, Croatia, in the municipality of Cerovlje. In 2011, the population of the village is 72.
