The walls and towers having been hastily raised,
towers fell by reason of bad foundation, and the upkeep of the
fortifications was a continual drain on papal and communal finances.
In 1362 an irresistible flood of waters overthrew the Fortes St. Michel
and Limbert, and large breaches were often made by these recurring
inundations. Moreover, the expansion of the city of old and the need of
access to the suburbs involved frequent displacement and opening of new
gates. In 1482 the whole system of the defensive works was modified to
meet the new situation caused by the introduction of gunpowder. The gates
most exposed to attack were further defended by outworks, that of St.
Lazare having been fortified during the rule of Giuliano della Rovere by
the addition of a powerful bastide, with three round towers, a drawbridge,
a new fosse which communicated with the great fosse before the main walls.
Other modifications took place during the Huguenot wars.
Notwithstanding many repairs during the intervening centuries, the
fortifications had, under the second Empire, suffered sad degradation, and
at length Viollet-le-Duc was entrusted with their restoration.
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