A Reappraisal of the Genoese Walls of Galata (Fourteenth–Fifteenth Centuries) in Terms of Medieval Building Techniques and Masonry Traditions

Year 2023, Volume: 5, 95 - 122, 31.12.2023

Selin Sur Ufuk Serin

https://doi.org/10.53979/yillik.2023.6

Abstract

While a number of fortifications have been attributed to the Genoese in Anatolia, the Walls of Galata are the only fortifications built entirely by them. Although the term “Genoese castle” is commonly used for most of these fortresses, even those without any trace of Genoese history, what is meant by “Genoese” architecture has not yet been fully identified or defined. This article investigates medieval building techniques and masonry traditions that the Genoese might have employed in their architectural practice. For this purpose, a comprehensive inventory of the surviving parts of the Walls of Galata to date has been created, and the building techniques of the surviving sections are investigated in detail. These techniques are analyzed through a comparison of other buildings in Galata and Genoa built by the Genoese and the Palaiologan buildings in Constantinople/Istanbul. Next, other “Genoese” fortresses in Anatolia and eastern Thrace and their building techniques and materials are similarly evaluated in the late Byzantine context. This research reveals that the Genoese essentially (re)used available building materials, adopting the building techniques and masonry traditions of the Palaiologan architecture in association with a collaboration with Byzantine masons. It concludes that the Genoese most likely introduced the use of pointed arches to Byzantine masons in Constantinople, and that the Walls of Galata are one of the earliest monuments in Istanbul where pointed arches were used.

Keywords

Galata Walls, Genoese, fortification, medieval architecture, construction techniques and materials

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