5,11-Dihydro-6H-pyrido[2,3-6][1,4]benzodiazepin-6-one (1), a basic intermediate in the preparation of 11-α-aminoacetyl derivatives with important biological activities, has been obtained by a three-step synthesis starting from easily available isatoic anhydride and anhydro ornithine. Some model cyclisation reactions leading to 5-member ring derivatives 10 and 12 instead of 7-member ring analogues of