Imitazione, adattamento, appropriazione. Tecnologia e tattica delle artiglierie 'minute' nell’Italia del Quattrocento

Sifting through state documentation and contemporary treatises, the article will examine the development of light artillery in Renaissance Italy, focusing on the acquisition of transalpine military technology and its adaptation to local manufacturing traditions. The essay will evaluate the impact of new weapons, wheeled carts, and metal shot on the improvement of fifteenth-century defensive tactics, hence remarking the correlation between actual warfare and technical innovation through the analysis of several major battles, including the clashes at Anghiari, Riccardina, and Campomorto. Also considering the encounter at Fornovo, and briefly comparing the French ordnance to Italian guns, the research will demonstrate the existence of specific patterns of technological transfer, determined by political and military, cultural and economic factors.