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Battle of Legnano

For the opera by Verdi, see La battaglia di Legnano.
Battle of Legnano
Part of Guelphs and Ghibellines

A clash between knights, capital 12th century, Pavia
Date29 May 1176
Location
Legnano,[1] Lombardy, Italy
45°36′12″N 08°54′31″E / 45.60333°N 8.90861°E / 45.60333; 8.90861
Result Lombard League victory [2][3]
Belligerents
Lombard League Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Guido da Landriano Frederick I Barbarossa
Strength
12,000 [nb 1] 3,000 [nb 2]
(incl. 2,500 knights)
Battle of Legnano is located in Italy
Battle of Legnano
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Location within Italy

The battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on 29 May 1176, near the town of Legnano, in present-day Lombardy, Italy.[6][7] Although the presence of the enemy nearby was already known to both sides, they suddenly met without having time to plan any strategy.[8][9]

The battle was crucial in the long war waged by the Holy Roman Empire in an attempt to assert its power over the municipalities of northern Italy,[8] which decided to set aside their mutual rivalries and join in a military alliance symbolically led by Pope Alexander III, the Lombard League.[10]

The battle ended the fifth and last descent into Italy of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa,[6] who after the defeat tried to resolve the Italian question by adopting a diplomatic approach. This resulted a few years later in the Peace of Constance (25 June 1183), with which the Emperor recognized the Lombard League and made administrative, political, and judicial concessions to the municipalities, officially ending his attempt to dominate northern Italy.[11][12]

The battle is alluded to in the Canto degli Italiani by Goffredo Mameli and Michele Novaro, which reads: «From the Alps to Sicily, Legnano is everywhere» in memory of the victory of Italian populations over foreign ones.[13] Thanks to this battle, Legnano is the only city, besides Rome, to be mentioned in the Italian national anthem.[13] In Legnano, to commemorate the battle, the Palio di Legnano takes place annually from 1935, on the last Sunday of May.[14] In the institutional sphere, the date of 29 May was chosen as the regional holiday of Lombardy.[15]

  1. ^ a b Sire Raul, Annales Mediolanenses maiores, MGH SS. 18, 378
  2. ^ Annales Colonienses maximi. Cologne. 1238. p. 25b Anno Domini 1176, MG. SS rer. Germ, in us.schol., 128 f.
  3. ^ Peter N. Stearns and William Leonard Langer, The Encyclopedia of World History, 2001, p. 208
  4. ^ a b Godfrey of Viterbo, Gesta Friderici, MG. SS XXII, 329 V 982 ff.
  5. ^ Otto of Sankt Blasien, Continuatio Sanblasiana, SS. XX, 316
  6. ^ a b "Ars Bellica – Le grandi battaglie della storia – La battaglia di Legnano" (in Italian). Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  7. ^ D'Ilario 1984, p. 26.
  8. ^ a b D'Ilario 1984, p. 23.
  9. ^ Percivaldi 2009, p. 6.
  10. ^ "Alessandro III" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Federico I e i comuni" (in Italian). December 30, 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  12. ^ D'Ilario, Gianazza & Marinoni 1976, p. 155.
  13. ^ a b "Fratelli d'Italia" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  14. ^ D'Ilario 1984, p. 335.
  15. ^ "Festa della Lombardia" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2014.


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