The War of the Bucket or the War of the Oaken Bucket () was fought in 1325 between the rival city-states of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

and Modena. It took place in the region of

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, in 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 ...

. The war was an episode in the over 300-year-long struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines. Modena won the

Battle of Zappolino The Battle of Zappolino, the only battle of the War of the Oaken Bucket, was fought in November 1325 between forces representing the Italian towns of Bologna and Modena, an incident in the series of raids and reprisals between the two cities that ...

, the only battle of the war. A common myth surrounding the War of the Bucket is that it was caused by the Modenese stealing a bucket from a Bolognese well. However, that is mostly incorrect, as the bucket was, according to most accurate accounts, taken as a trophy by the Modenese after the war—in fact war was declared because Modena had captured the Bolognese castle of Monteveglio.

Background

From the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

to the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, northern Italy was divided between factions supporting the rival political claims of the Holy Roman Emperor ("Ghibellines") and the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

("Guelphs"). Modena was Ghibelline;

was Guelph. The political difference exacerbated the natural conflicts over border territories. In 1176, Frederick Barbarossa was defeated at the Battle of Legnano by the Lombard League, which supported Pope Alexander III. That was the start of a protracted period of conflict in

Medieval Italy The history of Italy in the Middle Ages can be roughly defined as the time between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance. The term "Middle Ages" itself ultimately derives from the description of the period of "obsc ...

between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The two opposing factions started war against each other. The town of Modena was a staunch supporter of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and pledged to be a Ghibelline city. The northern city of Bologna was a Guelph city and was led by the Popes because it supported them. In 1296, Bologna seized Bazzano and Savigno from Modena. Pope

Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...

confirmed Bologna's title that same year.

Azzo VIII d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara Azzo VIII d'Este (died 31 January 1308) was lord of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1293 until his death. He inherited the family lands from his father, Obizzo II, whom Dante suggested in the ''Inferno'' he had assassinated. The Florentine poet ...

controlled Modena from 1293 to 1308 and confronted Bologna partly to bolster his lukewarm support among Modena's nobles. His elected successor, the

Mantuan Baptista Spagnuoli Mantuanus ( it, Battista Mantovano, English: Battista the Mantuan or simply Mantuan; also known as Johannes Baptista Spagnolo; 17 April 1447 – 22 March 1516) was an Italian Carmelite reformer, humanist, and poet. Biography ...

Passerino Bonacolsi, was an agent of Emperor

Louis IV of Bavaria Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

. He continued the Ghibelline war policy, with

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

and Reggio also under his power. Pope

John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

declared Bonacolsi a rebel against the Church and granted

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

as befit a Crusader to any who could harm his person or his possessions.''Messer Passerino Signor di Modena ribelle di Santa Chiesa, fosse lecito a ciascuna persona di poter danneggiarlo nell'avere e nella persona, dando a chiunque certa perdonanza,come se andassero oltra mare a ricuperare il Sepulcro'' (''Scriptores Rerum Italicum'' vol. XVIII, column 338, quoted in Angelo Namias, ''Storia di Modena e dei paesi circostanti'' 1894, book v, c. XIX:220) In the months before the battle, border clashes intensified. In July, the Bolognese entered the Modenese territory and laid waste the fields in the section "between the canals" by fire and sword. In August, a Bolognese rabble, headed by their

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

, spent two weeks ravaging other lands of Modena.Griffoni, Matteo. "''Conflictus Zapolini''", in ''Memoriale historicum de rebus bononiensium'', ''s. anno'' 1325. In September,

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

took its turn, and at the end of that month, the strategic Bolognese '' rocca'' of Monteveglio was betrayed to Modena by malcontents. Two renegade castellans were decapitated.

Battle of Zappolino

After Bologna mustered an army of 32,000 men and marched against Modena in November, 7,000 Modenese under Bonacolsi met them at Zappolino, in Bolognese territory. The Bolognese were routed and fled into the walls of their city. About 2,000 men were killed on both sides. Some accounts state that the Modenese took a bucket from a well just outside a city gate as a trophy.

Aftermath

The 17th-century Italian poet

Alessandro Tassoni Alessandro Tassoni (28 September 156525 April 1635) was an Italian poet and writer, from Modena, best known as the author of the mock-heroic poem '' La secchia rapita'' (''The Rape of the Pail'', or ''The stolen bucket''). Life He was born in ...

composed the mock-heroic epic ''

La secchia rapita ''La Secchia Rapita'' (The kidnapped bucket) is a mock-heroic epic poem by Alessandro Tassoni, first published in 1622. Later successful mock-heroic works in French and English were written on the same plan. Background The invention of the heroi- ...

'' on the events of the War of the Bucket. After the war, Ghibelline power had risen once again, but the wars were not over. In 1447, the Ghibellines encountered failures when the

Ambrosian Republic , it, Aurea Repubblica Ambrosiana , era = Late Middle Ages , government_type = Directorial republic , p1 = Duchy of Milan , flag_p1 = Flag of the Duchy of Milan (1450).svg , s1 ...

was created and broke down. The wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines continued until 1529 when

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

seized imperial power in Italy during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. Faced with the threat of a foreign invasion, both factions made peace with each other.

References

{{Reflist Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines 1325 in Europe Conflicts in 1325 History of Modena History of Emilia-Romagna