The siege of Viterbo was fought in 1243 between the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the rebellious city of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

, 50 km north of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

History

Frederick intervened when the

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 ...

party in the city expelled his garrison from the city, forcing the men, led by the imperial vicar Simeon, count of

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, to withdraw into the rocca of San Lorenzo. Frederick was reached by the news at Melfi, and immediately raised an army to set the matter, while the rebel citizens of Viterbo requested help from Frederick's traditional enemy, the pope. The emperor led the siege personally, but the maneuvers of his troops were unsuccessful, and the defenders were able to set on fire the imperial

siege towers A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...

. The siege thus resulted in a humiliation for Frederick.

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

, fearing that the event could start a war with the emperor, intervened; his legate, Cardinal Otto of San Nicola in Carcere, convinced the rebels to sign a treaty of peace. However, after the signature, they treacherously attacked and massacred the imperial garrison. The pope punished the citizens of Viterbo only with a pecuniary mulct, and retained control of the city in the person of his legate, Ranieri of Viterbo.

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* Viterbo 1243 Viterbo 1243

13th century in Italy

1240s in the Holy Roman Empire 1243 in Europe Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor {{Italy-hist-stub

History

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