__NOTOC__The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near

Parabiago Parabiago (Milanese: ; la, Parabiacum) is a town located in the north-western part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The town is crossed by the road to Sempione (S.S.33) and MilanGallarate Railway; nearby flow the Olo ...

, in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, between the

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

ese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of

Lodrisio Visconti Lodrisio Visconti (c. 1280 – 1364) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful Visconti of Milan, and Antiochia Crivelli. After military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti and ...

. A renowned condottiero, the latter was an exiled member of the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

family then in power in Milan with a kind of triumvirate formed by

Azzone Azzone (; lmo, label=Bergamasque, Sù) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population ...

and his uncles, Luchino and Archbishop Giovanni Visconti. Aiming to return victoriously to his city, he hired some 2,500 knights, mainly from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and 1,000

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

infantry which had fought in the unsuccessful war of

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brother ...

for the hegemony in northern Italy. These units were led by

Werner von Urslingen Werner von Urslingen (called in Italian: Guarnieri d'Urslingen or Duca Guarnieri; c. 1308 – 1354) was a mercenary of German-speaking origins in the Holy Roman Empire. He is also known as Werner of Urslingen. Biography Werner was born at Irslinge ...

and

Konrad von Landau Konrad Wirtinger von Landau (died 22 April 1363), known in Italy as Conte Lando, was a German military adventurer and condottiero who was active in north and central Italy. He was born the eldest son of Count Eberardo III in the ancient Swabian vil ...

Background

Lodrisio Visconti set out for Lombardy in late January 1339, defeating the Milanese in

Rivolta d'Adda Rivolta d'Adda ( lmo, Riólta) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Rivolta d'Adda borders the following municipalities: Agna ...

, and later conquering

Cernusco sul Naviglio Cernusco sul Naviglio (; lmo, Cernusch, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. With a population of 33,436 as of 2015 it is the 14th-largest municipality in the metropolitan city. It is locate ...

Sesto di Monza Sesto San Giovanni (; lmo, Sest San Giovann, label=Western Lombard ), locally referred to as just Sesto ( lmo, Sest, links=no), is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost ...

, and

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the north-westernmost part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Le ...

, where he was joined by the

Scaliger The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History Wh ...

troops. Luchino set off to meet the Compagnia with his citizen militia and 700 knights from

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

under the Bolognese Ettore da Panigo.

, suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

, remained in Milan.

The battle

On 20 February 1339, with deep snow on the ground, Lodrisio's army attacked one of the two corps in which the Milanese army had divided, and which was camping near what is now the

Canale Villoresi Canale Villoresi is a canal in Italy; it was the brainchild of Lombardy engineer Eugenio Villoresi. It originates from the River Ticino near the village of Somma Lombardo, and runs eastwards for to the Adda River. Construction began in 1877 ...

, near Parabiago. The Milanese were routed and retired to Milan with Lodrisio's troops in pursuit. Here the two main corps met and the Milanese were again defeated with Luchino captured. However, the Milanese militia did not retreat completely and offered a confused but effective resistance. In the meantime da Panigo's knights joined with some fugitives at

Rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...

and moved to Parabiago where they defeated the 400 men-at-arms left by Lodrisio and freed Luchino. In the meantime, news of the initial defeat reached Azzone, who ordered his men to move in and prepared to besiege Lodrisio's army. When the German mercenaries were attacked by da Panigo's men they were completely routed, and Lodrisio captured in turn. Total casualties amounted to some 6,500-7,000. Lodrisio Visconti was imprisoned in an iron cage in

San Colombano al Lambro San Colombano al Lambro ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. San Colombano al Lambro borders the following municipalities: Borghetto Lo ...

until 1349, when Azzone and Luchino died and Giovanni Visconti freed him.

Legend

Milano - San Bernardino alle ossa - Sant'Ambrogio alla battaglia di Parabiago - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 21 febr 2007

According to a legend, St. Ambrosius himself had appeared in the battle from a white cloud, riding a horse and leading the Milanese in the decisive moments. To celebrate the event, Giovanni Visconti had a church and an abbey built, called ''Sant'Ambrogio della Vittoria'' ("St. Ambrose of the Victory"). Until 1581, every February 21 a procession was held from Milan to Parabiago to remember the victory.

Sources

* * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Parabiago 1339 in Europe 1330s in the Holy Roman Empire 14th century in Italy

Background

The battle

Legend

See also

Sources

Notes