Esztergom

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The images presented here show the city of Esztergom, i.e. Strigonia, which - together with several Hungarian cities - was a battlefield during the Long Turkish War (1593–1606) that broke out due to the renewed hostilities between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. Several related depictions are preserved in the State Archives of Modena.

Among the drawings there are some more elaborate such as this watercolor, and some created rather for military purposes (see next image). The name of their author is not indicated, we can deduce this from other archival sources. The bird’s-eye view is certainly the work of Gabriello Ughi, a draftsman of Don Giovanni de’ Medici in Florence, and commissioned by Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (1587–1612). All three were present at the siege and their goal was to preserve the memory of the successful warrior.

The original record held by: State Archives of Modena
Reference code: Archivio di Stato di Modena, Mappario Estense, Topografie di città, n. 138
Date of creation: Esztergom, 1595

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The five-page drawing, also named “La Grande Strigonia”, is the work of Claudio Cogorano. It shows the state of Esztergom after the siege in 1595. The image is a perspective representation on five sheets which put together are two meters long. The first four sheets were glued together with paper strips to form a complete view of the city of Esztergom and its surroundings. On the fifth page we can see the castle highlighting the roads leading to it, the batteries and the Christian camp.

The palace building and other ruins destroyed by cannon fire can be seen on the drawing (1), and also the Bakócz Chapel can be identified (2) it was built in the 16th century. The drawing may have been made to assess the damage caused by the siege, in order to plan the rebuilding of Esztergom.

The original record held by: State Archives of Modena
Reference code: Archivio di Stato di Modena, Mappario Estense, Militare, n. 131/1–5
Date of creation: Esztergom, 1595

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The depiction of the siege of the city can also be seen in the form of a fresco in one of the halls of the castle of Spezzano, in the so-called “Gallery of Battles”. The latter came to light after a break of about four hundred years in the 1990s and has recently been identified. Presumably it was painted based on the first sheet of the series just mentioned considering the representation of the bastion in the foreground, which provided the water supply to the castle. Based on other similarities, the fresco can be dated to 1595. This theory is further supported by the fact that the fresco may have been commissioned for the castle of Spezzano by Marco Pio di Savoia, who took part in the siege and excelled in the battles. It is believed that the series of images in the Archives of the Este today was previously owned by the Pio di Savoia family.

The original record held by: Castello di Spezzano, Fiorano Modenese
Reference code: mural
Date of creation: 1595

Castello di Spezzano, Comune di Fiorano Modenese MO, Italy; ph Lucio Rossi

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Several depictions of Esztergom have been preserved from this time, the settlement being a key fortress in the battles against the Ottomans. The following sketch also shows the occupation of the Turkish-held city of Esztergom by the imperial armies from 1595. The castle with the church of St. Adalbert (1), the fortress (2) and the city (3) can also easily be identified.

The original record held by: State Archives of Modena
Reference code: Archivio di Stato di Modena, Mappario Estense, Militare, n. 145
Date of creation: Esztergom, 1595

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The final item in this section is a map, which seems to be simple compared to the previous images, however not less important. Also this document depicting Esztergom has been identified by our enthusiastic research team in the Modena State Archives. Its creator and date of birth are unknown, but it is possible that it’s a reconstruction plan made after the siege of 1595, which called for the modernization of the castle, provided with an Italian-type bastion fortification system. The suburb St. George (corresponding to the territory of the "Gionta", i.e. the new part of the fortress) and St. Adalbert's Cathedral can be identified, the latter as part of an upper fortress to be established on the castle hill (see the castle wall highlighted in red). The inscription “scholio” refers to the White tower, while the “parte lasiata fora per esere dominata dal monto di san Tomase'' shows the intention to place this part outside the new walls, because it is dominated from the hill of St. Thomas, and the Water City can be identified as well. The dotted lines indicate the parts that were destined for demolition, which were not intended to be renovated according to the new plans. What makes the map special is the quality of the representation and the accurate engineering survey.

The original record held by: State Archives of Modena
Reference code: Archivio di Stato di Modena, Mappario Estense, Topografie di città, n. 142/1
Date of creation: Esztergom, sine data

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