Words: trace italienne star-shaped fortress star fort bastion fort star fortress
Part of speech: n
Definition: a fortification composed of many projecting triangular bastions (usually from five to eight), specifically designed to cover each other; first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy.
Example: Star forts were employed by Michelangelo in the defensive earthworks of Florence, and refined in the sixteenth century by Baldassare Peruzzi and Scamozzi.