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Baradello
The Castello Baradello is a military fortification located on a high hill next to the city of Como, northern Italy. History The castle occupies the ancient site of ''Comum Oppidum'', the original settlement of Como, dating from the 1st millennium BC. Later it was one of the last Byzantine Empire, Byzantine strongholds in the area, surrendering to the Lombards in 588. The castle was restored during the War of the Lombard League, with the help of emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1158). Barbarossa officially donated it to the citizens of Como in 1178. Napoleone della Torre died here in 1278, having been imprisoned here by Ottone Visconti after the Battle of Desio; his nephew Guido della Torre, Guido was able to escape in 1283, as well as his brothers Corrado della Torre, Corrado and Enrico della Torre, Enrico the following year. Azzone Visconti restored and enlarged the fortification after conquering Como in 1335, and built another castle, the Castello della Torre Rotonda ("Castle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Como
Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, celebrated for its stunning landscapes, artistic heritage, and cultural significance. Its prime location on the shores of Lake Como and its proximity to the majestic Alps has made Como a popular destination for tourists. The city boasts a rich collection of art, religious sites, verdant gardens, museums, theatres, public parks, and opulent palaces, including the iconic ''Duomo'', seat of the Diocese of Como; the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio; Villa Olmo; the public gardens with the Tempio Voltiano; the Teatro Sociale; the ''Broletto'', the city's medieval town hall; and the 20th-century Casa del Fascio, a landmark of modernist architecture. Como has been the birthplace of numerous notable historical figures, including the Roman poet Caecili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guido Della Torre
Guido della Torre (27 September 1259 – summer 1312) was a Lord of Milan between 1302 and 1312. Early life He was the son of Francesco della Torre (brother of Napoleone della Torre), Podestà of Novara (d. 1277) and his wife, Giulia, daughter of Corrado Castiglioni, Podestà di Tortona and Isola Lampugnani. Biography As part of the factional turmoil between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the conflict of Guido’s Guelph family with the Ghibelline Visconti, led by Ottone Visconti, dominated much of his childhood. In 1277, after the Battle of Desio, in which he lost his father, he was taken prisoner with his uncle Napoleone, and imprisoned in the castle of Baradello at Como. He escaped from this castle in 1284, with the help of Loterio Rusca, the Lord of Como and William VII, Marquess of Montferrat. He fled with his uncle Raimondo della Torre, who was the Patriarch of Aquileia. In 1287 Guido became Podestà of Treviso. After his escape from the castle Baradello, Guido led th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Napoleone Della Torre
Napoleone della Torre (died 16 August 1278), also known as Napo della Torre or Napo Torriani, was an Italian nobleman, who was effective Lord of Milan in the late 13th century. He was a member of the della Torre family, the father of Corrado della Torre and the brother of Raimondo della Torre. Biography Napoleone was the son of Pagano I della Torre. In 1260 he was podestà of Piacenza. He took power in Milan in 1265, succeeding his cousin Filippo as ''Anziano del Popolo'' ("Elder of the People") and, at the same time, ''podestà'' of Como, Novara, Bergamo and Lodi. He continued the family policy of support of Charles of Anjou and the Guelph party against the Ghibellines and the Kingdom of Sicily. The Angevin victory at Benevento of the following year meant a triumph of the Guelphs in Italy; in 1267 the main members of the party met in Milan to renew the league against the new Ghibelline leader, the German Conradin. Napo was named commander of the league together with his bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottone Visconti
Ottone Visconti (1207 8 August 1295) was Archbishop of Milan and Lord of Milan, the first of the Visconti line. Under his rule, the commune of Milan became a strong Ghibelline city and one of the Holy Roman Empire's seats in Italy. Biography Early life Born in Invorio, near Novara, Ottone was one of the six children of Uberto Visconti, lord of Massino, and Berta Pirovano. Along with his brother Azzone (later Bishop of Ventimiglia), Ottone was forced into an ecclesiastical career by his family. He became canon of Desio and in 1247 chamberlain of the powerful Cardinal Ottaviano degli Ubaldini. Under his patronage, Ottone was appointed by Archbishop of Milan Leone da Perego as his envoy to France in 1252, gaining the trust of Pope Innocent IV, becoming his chaplain. After the death of Leone da Perego in 1257, Ottone was supported by Cardinal Ubaldini as successor to the Archdiocese of Milan, against Raimondo della Torre's candidacy. This action displeased the city' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Desio
The Battle of Desio was fought on 21 January 1277 between the Della Torre and Visconti families for the control of Milan and its countryside. The battlefield is located near the modern Desio, a commune outside the city in Lombardy, Northern Italy. Although generally considered one of the numerous minor battles fought in the 13th century in Italy during the Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, it was in fact the conclusion of a long inner struggle for the possession of Milan, leading to the transformation of the former democratic regime into an aristocratic signoria. The Visconti victory granted them the rule over Milan, which lasted until the 15th century. Background In the 13th century, the politic life in Milan shared the same path of many other communes in Italy, living an increasing series of inner divisions and episodes of corruption. In the decades preceding the battle, the noble family of the Della Torre (or Torriani) had gained the most important political charges in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corrado Della Torre
Corrado della Torre, also called Mosca ( – 24 October 1307) was an Italian medieval politician and condottiero, a member of the Torriani family. Biography Corrado was the son of Napo della Torre and Marguerite of Baux, a Provençal noblewoman. Around 1266 he was ''podestà'' of Mantua and in 1277 he took part in the battle of Desio, in which he was captured and imprisoned in the Castello Baradello, near Como, together with his father and brothers. Napo died there in 1278, while Corrado and his brother were later able to escape. He became governor of Istria in 1277–1278 and 1293–1297, and, in 1293, ''podestà'' of Trieste, all under the aegis of his uncle Raimondo, then patriarch of Aquileia. In 1284–1285 he took part in the defence of Trieste, besieged by the Venetians. In 1289 he fought against Asti alongside William VII of Montferrat. In 1302 he participated in the anti-Visconti alliance which forced Matteo Visconti to leave Milan, which was returned to the della Torr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citadel
A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In a fortification with bastions, the citadel is the strongest part of the system, sometimes well inside the outer walls and bastions, but often forming part of the outer wall for the sake of economy. It is positioned to be the last line of defence, should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system. History 3300–1300 BC Some of the oldest known structures which have served as citadels were built by the Indus Valley civilisation, where citadels represented a centralised authority. Citadels in Indus Valley were almost 12 meters tall. The purpose of these structures, however, remains debated. Though the structures found in the ruins of Mohenjo-daro were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buildings And Structures In Como
A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for numerous factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the concept, see ''Nonbuilding structure'' for contrast. Buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical separation of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) from the ''outside'' (a place that may be harsh and harmful at times). buildings have been objects or canvasses of much artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castles In Lombardy
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion, palace, and villa, whose main purpose was exclusively for ''pleasance'' and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of the term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace. European-style castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries after the fall of the Carolingian Empire, which resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1194, Beatrice of Bourbourg inherited her father's castellany of Bourbourg upon the death of her brother, Roger. Initial functions During the Migration Period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire (third to sixth century), foreign tribes entered Western Europe, causing strife. The answer to recurrent invasion was to create fortified areas which evolved into castles. Some military leaders gained control of several areas, each with a castle. The problem lay in exerting control and authority in each area when a leader could only be in one place at a time. To overcome this, they appointed castellans as their trusted vassals to manage a castle in exchange for obligations to the landlord, often a noble. In the 9th century, as fortification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merlon
A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The space between two merlons is called a crenel, and a succession of merlons and crenels is a crenellation. Crenels designed in later eras for use by cannons were also called embrasures. Etymology The term ''merlon'' comes from French 704 adapted from the Italian , possibly a shortened form of , perhaps connected to Latin ("two-pronged pitchfork"), or from a diminutive , from or (a wall). An alternative etymology suggests that the medieval Latin (mentioned from the end of the 10th century) functioned as a diminutive of Latin , " blackbird", expressing an image of this bird sitting on a wall. As part of battlements As an essential part of battlements, merlons were used in fortifications for millennia. The best-known examples appear on m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
