The Tre Pievi ("three parishes", in German historically ''Drei Pleven'') are a historical territory on the shores of Lake Como, consisting of the villages of Dongo, Sorico and Gravedona, now part of the Province of Como,

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 villages were owned by the city-state of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

from the early medieval period, and along with Como passed to the Duchy of Milan in 1335. In 1512, the three villages sought the protection of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...

. From this time, the villages were administrated by a bailiff designated by the Three Leagues. After the Swiss defeat at the

Battle of Marignano The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the b ...

in 1515, the three villages again declared their allegiance to the Duchy of Milan, but the Three Leagues refused to recognize this and sent an occupying force. In Perpetual Peace of 1516 between France and Switzerland, the villages were not named so that their ''de jure'' affiliation remained uncertain, and the king of France (as duke of Milan) demanded that the Three Leagues return the villages to Milan. The Milanese steward of Musso occupied Sorico and Gravedona, resulting in the armed conflict known as ''Müsserkrieg''. The Three Leagues were forced to abandon their claim on the territory in 1526, and it remained part of the Duchy of Milan during the Early Modern period.

References

* *Mariuccia Zecchinelli, ''Ricerche su la Repubblica delle Tre Pievi nel Medioevo'', Como, Società storica comense, 1954. {{Authority control Province of Como History of Lombardy History of Graubünden Duchy of Milan