famous combination of four fortresses mutually supporting one another, during the Austrian rule of northern Italy. The four fortified towns were Mantua, Peschiera (Peschiera del Garda), Verona, and Legnago, lying between Lombardy and Venetia; the former two were on the Mincio and the latter two on the Adige. The real value of the Quadrilateral, which gave Austria such a firm hold on Lombardy, lay in the great natural strength of Mantua and in the readiness with which troops and supplies could be poured into Verona from Austria to the north.

The term quadrilateral has also been applied to other similar groups of fortresses—for example, the fortresses of Namur, Liège, Maastricht, and Leuven in the old Netherlands and those of Silistra, Ruse, Shumen, and Varna in Bulgaria.