The Battle of Altopascio was a battle fought in 1325 in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, between the

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

forces of

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

under

Castruccio Castracani Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and duke of Lucca. Biography Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he w ...

and those of

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Background

After subduing several Ghibelline towns, Castracani had conquered

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

and from there menaced Florence. The latter's troops moved to face him, but Castracani preferred to avoid a pitched battle; he took shelter in the local burgh of Cerruglio, waiting for reinforcements from his allies, the

Bonacolsi The Bonacolsi were a noble family who ruled Mantua in the last quarter of the 13th century and the first quarter of the 14th. Pinamonte Bonacolsi was appointed one of two ''rectors'' of the commune on 12 July 1272, at first for a period of two ...

, 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 ...

and

Cangrande della Scala Cangrande (christened Can Francesco) della Scala (9 March 1291 – 22 July 1329) was an Italian nobleman, belonging to the della Scala family which ruled Verona from 1308 until 1387. Now perhaps best known as the leading patron of the poet Dante ...

. Besieged by the Florentine commander, the Catalan Ramon de Cardona, the small garrison of

Altopascio Altopascio is a ''comune'' in the Province of Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy with a population of 15,572. History Already inhabited in Roman times, Altopascio gained in importance due to its ''Spedale'' (hostel, first mentioned in 1084) for ...

(500 men) resisted for 26 days (August 3–29), but in the end they had to surrender to the greatly superior Guelph forces (15,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, mostly composed of French, German and Burgundian mercenaries). The winners put their camp at Altopascio, but started to suffer heavy losses due to the unhealthy environment. On September 21, a party seeking a site for a new camp was destroyed by Castracani's forces between

Porcari Porcari is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence and about east of Lucca. In the Middle Ages it was a stage on the Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient ro ...

and

Montechiari Montechiari is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Palaia, province of Pisa. Montechiari is about 40 km from Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling ...

. Cardona then moved his troops to the plain of Altopascio, which granted better possibilities of escape. In the meantime the forces of

Azzone Visconti Azzone Visconti (7 December 1302 – 16 August 1339) was lord of Milan from 1329 until his death. After the death of his uncle, Marco Visconti, he was threatened with excommunication and had to submit to Pope John XXII. Azzone reconstituted his fa ...

, for which Castracani had paid 25,00 florins and according to

Giovanni Villani Giovanni Villani (; 1276 or 1280 – 1348)Bartlett (1992), 35. was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the ''Nuova Cronica'' (''New Chronicles'') on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman ...

's ''Nuova Cronica'' had to offer to the Milanese condottiero the most beautiful women of Lucca, had arrived in Lucca.

The battle and the aftermath

The battle was fought on September 23, as Cardona aimed to obtain a victory before Visconti's men could arrive. A first attack by the Florentine cavalry was successful, but in the second charge they were turned back by the Ghibelline counter-attack; the Guelph infantry was in turn routed by their mounted mates, while Visconti's cavalry, who had suddenly joined the battlefield, cut them off from any chance to escape. Castracani was therefore able to conquer back Altopascio and other towns, while most of the Guelph commanders, including Cardona, were taken as prisoners. On October 2 Castracani reached

Peretola Peretola is a suburb of Florence, Italy, located on the northern extremity of the Florentine commune. It belongs administratively to Quartiere 5 - Rifredi. It lend its name to the nearby international airport and is claimed as the birthplace ...

and started to sack the territory around Florence for several days. For his victory, he was granted the title of Duke of Lucca by Emperor Louis IV and the city offered him a veritable

Roman Triumph The Roman triumph (') was a civil religion, civil ceremony and Religion in ancient Rome, religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the success of a military commander who had led Roman forces to victory in the servi ...

, in which the Florentine ''

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 ...

'' was shown in the streets.

Sources

Page at cronologia.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altopascio, Battle of 1325 in Europe Battles involving the Republic of Florence Battles involving Lucca Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines Battles in Tuscany Conflicts in 1325 14th century in the Republic of Florence it:Altopascio#La battaglia di Altopascio