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Alberto da Giussano (in Lombard ''Albert de Giussan'', in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Albertus de Gluxano'') is a legendary character of the 12th century who would have participated, as a protagonist, in the battle of Legnano on 29 May 1176. In reality, according to historians, the actual military leader of the Lombard League in the famous military battle with
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
was
Guido da Landriano Guido da Landriano, or Landriani (Just checked now on the DOP (; before 1159 - after 1190), was an Italian condottiero and politician. He held the position of consul of the city of Milan and was the military leader of the troops of the Lombard ...
. Historical analyses made over time have indeed shown that the figure of Alberto da Giussano never existed. In the past, historians, attempting to find a real confirmation, hypothesized the identification of his figure with ''Albertus de Carathe'' (Alberto da Carate) and ''Albertus Longus'' (Alberto Longo), both among the Milanese who signed the pact in
Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
in March 1167 which established the Lombard League, or in an Alberto da Giussano mentioned in an appeal of 1196 presented to Pope Celestine III on the administration of the church-hospital of San Sempliciano. These, however, are all weak identifications, given that they lack clear and convincing historical confirmation.


History


The legend

The name of Alberto da Giussano appeared for the first time in the historical chronicle of the city of Milan written by the Dominican friar
Galvano Fiamma Galvano Fiamma (1283–1344) was an Italian Dominican and chronicler of Milan. He appears to have been the first European in the Mediterranean area to describe the New World. His numerous historical writings include the ''Chronica Galvagnana'', ...
in the first half of the 14th century, that is 150 years after the battle of Legnano. Alberto da Giussano was described as a knight who distinguished himself, together with his brothers Ottone and Raniero, in the battle of 29 May 1176. According to Galvano Fiamma, he headed the Company of Death, a military association of 900 young knights. The Company of Death owed its name to the oath that made its members, which foresaw the struggle until the last breath without ever lowering its arms. According to Galvano Fiamma, the Company of Death defended the Carroccio to the extreme and then carried out, in the final stages of the battle of Legnano, a charge against the imperial army of
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
. However, contemporary sources at the battle of Legnano do not mention either the existence of Alberto da Giussano or that of the Company of Death. From an excerpt from the ''Chronica Galvanica'' by Galvano Fiamma we can read: While, on another excerpt of the same work, this time on the battle of Legnano, we can read that: The stories of Fiamma should be taken with the benefit of the doubt since in his chronicles there are inaccuracies, inaccuracies and legendary facts. As regards this last aspect, Fiamma declares that a certain "Leone priest" has seen, during the battle of Legnano, three
doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
coming out of the burials of the saints Sisinnio, Martirio and Alessandro at the
basilica of San Simpliciano The Basilica of San Simpliciano is a church in the centre of Milan, Italy northern, the second oldest in the form of a Latin cross, first erected by Saint Ambrose. It is dedicated to Saint Simplician, bishop of Milan. History The site of the pr ...
in Milan. The three birds then leaned on the
Carroccio A carroccio (; ) was a large four-wheeled wagon bearing the city signs around which the militia of the medieval communes gathered and fought. It was particularly common among the Lombard, Tuscan and, more generally, northern Italian municipali ...
during the battle causing the escape of Barbarossa. In these chronicles it is also mentioned that the military structures that defended the Carroccio were three. The first was the aforementioned Company of Death, which included 900 knights, each of whom would have been provided with a gold ring. The second company was instead made up of 300 commoners guarding the Carroccio, while the third was made up of 300 scythed carts, each of which was led by ten soldiers. From these assertions we can certainly deduce the unreliability of the tales of Galvano. It is indeed unlikely that the battle was won by the Lombard League thanks to three doves that put Barbarossa in flight. Moreover, it seems equally doubtful that Milan, during the situation of economic hardship caused by the war, had supplied as many as 900 gold rings to the knights of the Company of Death. In addition it seems strange that the other chronicles of the time do not mention nor the presence of 300 scythed carts, which would have been a very special event certainly noteworthy, neither Alberto da Giussano, nor the three military companies. Galvano Fiamma, finally, in his writings, as regards the chronicles of the battle, reports the crippled toponym of "Carate" instead of
Cairate Cairate is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan and about south of Varese. Cairate borders the following municipalities: Carnago, Cassano Magnago Cassano Magna ...
(where Barbarossa, actually, stayed the night before the battle of Legnano), and asserts that there were two clashes between Barbarossa and the Lombard League: one at "Carate" (1176) and the second between Legnano and Dairago (29 May 1177), thus inventing an elusive battle of "Carate" and moving the battle of Legnano to following year. This supports the thesis that these facts told in reality are nothing other than the fantasies of Galvano. The fact that Alberto da Giussano and the Company of Death never existed was then confirmed by many historical analyzes that took place over time. The reason for the invention of the figure of Alberto da Giussano by Galvano Fiamma probably lies in the attempt to provide the Lombard League with a heroic and prominent figure that would be in contrast to that of Barbarossa.


The historical facts

On the other hand, based on historical sources, the heroic and decisive resistance around the Carroccio was carried out by the municipal infantry, which allowed the remaining part of the army of the Lombard League, actually led by
Guido da Landriano Guido da Landriano, or Landriani (Just checked now on the DOP (; before 1159 - after 1190), was an Italian condottiero and politician. He held the position of consul of the city of Milan and was the military leader of the troops of the Lombard ...
, to arrive from Milan and defeat Frederick Barbarossa in the famous battle of Legnano. The Carroccio, in particular, was positioned on the edge of a steep slope flanking the
Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed ent ...
river, so that the imperial cavalry, whose arrival was expected along the river, would have been forced to attack the center of the Lombard League's army going up the escarpment. Barbarossa was therefore forced to attack the municipal army in a situation of disadvantage, given that it would have had to attack from below going up this valley. Considering the phases of the battle, this could mean that the famous battle could have been fought also on part of the territory now belonging to the municipality of
San Giorgio su Legnano San Giorgio su Legnano (Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan. San Giorgio su Legnano borders the following municipalities: Legnano, Villa Co ...
near the Legnano district "Costa of San Giorgio", or on the territory of today San Martino district in Legnano, since it is not possible to identify, in other parts of the area, a depression with these characteristics. The army of Barbarossa then arrived on the opposite side, from Borsano: this forced the municipal infantrymen to resist around the Carroccio, given that they had the escape road blocked by the Olona river, which they had behind.


Historical research

Alberto da Giussano was a name quite in vogue at the time. Historical researches carried out for other purposes by Pio Pecchiai have traced this Alberto da Giussano, Milanese, contemporary to the events mentioned, which is mentioned, in 1196, in an appeal presented to Pope Celestine III by fifty neighbors of the Porta Comasina in Milan for a dispute over the administration of the church-hospital of San Sempliciano (at the time the hospitals were often linked to religious structures). The fact that the name of an Alberto da Giussano appears can give us at least some certainty of existence, precisely in years close to the time of the struggle of the Lombard League against
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
, of a person of that name, although there is no certainty that it was a leader, much less that he was referring to the captain who took part in the battle at the head of the Company of Death. It was then attempted to identify Alberto da Giussano with two historical figures, ''Albertus de Carathe'' (Alberto da Carate) and ''Albertus Longus'' (Alberto Longo), who are among the signatories, for the municipality of Milan, of the founding pact of the Lombard League (
Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...
, March 1167). The most surprising fact, however, remains that the Alberto da Giussano mentioned in the notarial document of the time would have lived near the church-church of San Simpliciano where the legend tells that the three white doves that the fighters would have seen during the battle of Legnano perched on the mast of the Carroccio. The notarial document which contains the undated list is in any case attributable to the years 1195–1196, which shows that the "Da Giussano" family is from Milan and also presents its exponents at the top of the municipal institutions of the city. Contemporary to the battle of Legnano is also a certain Ottone da Giussano, who owned property in Arosio (very close to Giussano) and surroundings. He must have been a rich and remarkable person: his name appears in records of 1183, that is the same year of the signing of the
Peace of Constance The Peace of Constance (25 June 1183) was a privilege granted by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his son and co-ruler, Henry VI, King of the Romans, to the members of the Lombard League to end the state of rebellion (war) that had been ong ...
(which was signed on 25 June 1183 between Federico Barbarossa and representatives of the Lombard League following the events connected at the Battle of Legnano), as well as documents from 1190, 1199 and 1202. In these documents, however, it is not specified whether he was the brother of Alberto and Rainerio, or of the two brothers who, according to legend, participated in the battle of Legnano. The only certain fact is that it was a really wealthy person and that he would certainly have everything to lose with Barbarossa's policy. However, all these identifications in people who actually existed in the Alberto da Giussano captain of the Lombard League are weak, given that they lack clear and convincing historical confirmation.


Legacy

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
political party
Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...
makes use of his myth. The electoral emblem of the party features Alberto with an image inspired by the statue of him erected at Legnano in 1900. Also the infantry brigade ''Legnano '' of the
Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...
used the image of this statue as symbol. Also the
Giussano-class cruiser The ''Alberto da Giussano'' class of light cruisers were a sub-class of the built before World War II for the Italian ''Regia Marina'', to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea. They were designed by general Giuseppe Vian and were named a ...
.


In popular culture

In the 2009 film ''
Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Un ...
'', Alberto played by
Raz Degan Raz Degan is an actor, director, and cinematographer, born in a Kibbutz of Sde Nehemia in Israel to Ilan and Adina Degan; he has two brothers who also live and work abroad. At the age of 21, and after three years military service in the Israeli Ar ...
is featured as the protagonist.


See also

* Battle of Legnano * Company of Death * Lombard League


Citations


References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giussano, Alberto Da 12th-century deaths Heroes in mythology and legend Year of birth unknown Padanian nationalism History of Lombardy