 Since the previous siege the fortress had received many upgrades from the new school of "trace italienne", which made it much more formidable in resisting artillery.In the most exposed land-facing sectors, these included a thickening of the main wall, doubling of the width of the dry ditch, coupled with a transformation of the old counterscarp into massive outworks (tenailles), the construction of bulwarks around most towers, and caponiers enfilading the ditch.Gates were reduced in number, and the old battlement parapets were replaced with slanting ones suitable for artillery fights.