A tratadística italiana aplicada à expansão portuguesa: o traçado do Rio de Janeiro nos séculos XVI e XVII

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the urban theory that evolved from the Italian treatises from the late XV, XVII and XVIII centuries and the way they were applied by the military engineers in the Portuguese colonies, focusing on the drafting ofthe city ofRio de Janeiro in the XVI and XVII centuries. The main goal is to demonstrate that there are evidences that the conception of the city was backed up by those treatises, as it can be seen by the first known city plan in scale. For that purpose, it was established that several military engineers actually visited Rio de Janeiro during that period and, by means of an accurate analysis of how the city spread to the meadow, how the main fortresses were positioned according to said treatises.