Searching the «Italian trace» in the wood and earth fortification of the medieval Russia

The treatise of Giovanni Battista Belluzzi, an Italian architect of the 16th century, that describes the technology of constructing earth walls with wooden structural elements placed inside the walls, demonstrates its principal differences from the medieval Russian wood and earth fortifications. So far, only one example of this technology applied in practice has been recorded for Medieval Russia, it is a Kitai-gorod rampart in Moscow built in 1534 that has not survived (it is mentioned only in a chronicle). Appearance of this original technology in Italy was caused by a need to find protection against fire artillery, while the use of wood in earth ramparts can be explained both by a lack of experience in using wood in earth walls and recommendations of Vegetius (5th century) developed specifically for construction of ramparts around the camps of the Roman troops.