ABSTRACT
During the sixteenth century there was a great deal of religious tension that arose from the Protestant Reformation and the creation of new Protestant churches, instigated by clergyman such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. The Roman Catholic Church responded with the counter-reformation, which was headed by the new religious order of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. Through this century Europe became divided between Protestant and Roman Catholic. The various divisions of both main religions led to fierce conflict, and eventually war. 1 Fortifications became an important aspect of city design. However, towards the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century the aspirations of an ideal city and a society free of conflict looked towards a more political and philosophical foundation. There was strong move towards a more Humanist approach to philosophy, where the rewards of heaven, the perfect celestial utopian city, did not have to wait until the afterlife to be enjoyed.
