__NOTOC__The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near

Parabiago Parabiago (Milanese: ; ) is a town located in the north-western part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The town is crossed by the road to Sempione (S.S.33) and MilanGallarate Railway; nearby flow the Olona river and t ...

, in

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, between the

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

ese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of

Lodrisio Visconti Lodrisio Visconti (c. 1280 – 1364) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful Visconti of Milan, and Antiochia Crivelli. After military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti an ...

. A renowned

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

, the latter was an exiled member of 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 ...

family then in power in Milan with a kind of triumvirate formed by

Azzone Azzone (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northeast of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 458 and an area of .All dem ...

and his uncles, Luchino and Archbishop Giovanni Visconti. Aiming to return victoriously to his city, he hired some 2,500 knights, mainly from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and 1,000

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

infantry which had fought in the recent unsuccessful war of

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his broth ...

for the hegemony in northern Italy. These units were led by

Werner von Urslingen Werner von Urslingen (Werner of Urslingen in English, called in Italian: Guarnieri d'Urslingen or Duca Guarnieri; c. 1308 – 1354) from German-speaking origins in the Holy Roman Empire was a mercenary serving mostly in Italy, and also known as th ...

and

Konrad von Landau Konrad Wirtinger von Landau (died 22 April 1363), known in Italy as Conte Lando, was a German military adventurer and condottiero who was active in north and central Italy. He was born the eldest son of Count Eberardo III in the ancient Swabian vi ...

Background

Lodrisio Visconti set out for Lombardy in late January 1339, defeating the Milanese in

Rivolta d'Adda Rivolta d'Adda () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan and about northwest of Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situat ...

, and later conquering

Cernusco sul Naviglio Cernusco sul Naviglio (; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. With a population of 33,436 as of 2015 it is the 14th-largest municipality in the metropolitan city. It is located 11 kilometres ...

, Sesto di Monza, and

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Legnano is located in the ...

, where he was joined by the

Scaliger The House of Della Scala, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History ...

troops. Luchino set off to meet the Compagnia with his citizen militia and 700 knights from

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

under the Bolognese Ettore da Panigo.

, suffering from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

, remained in Milan.

Battle

On 20 February 1339, with deep snow on the ground, Lodrisio's army attacked one of the two corps in which the Milanese army had divided, and which was camping near what is now the

Canale Villoresi Canale Villoresi is a canal in Italy; it was the brainchild of Lombardy engineer Eugenio Villoresi. It originates from the River Ticino near the village of Somma Lombardo, and runs eastwards for to the Adda River. Construction began in 1877 ...

, near Parabiago. The Milanese were routed and retired to Milan with Lodrisio's troops in pursuit. Here the two main corps met and the Milanese were again defeated with Luchino captured. However, the Milanese militia did not retreat completely and offered a confused but effective resistance. In the meantime da Panigo's knights joined with some fugitives at

Rho Rho (; uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; or ) is the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician letter resh . Its uppercase form uses the same ...

and moved to Parabiago where they defeated the 400 men-at-arms left by Lodrisio and freed Luchino. In the meantime, news of the initial defeat reached Azzone, who ordered his men to move in and prepared to besiege Lodrisio's army. When the German mercenaries were attacked by da Panigo's men they were completely routed, and Lodrisio captured in turn. Total casualties amounted to some 6,500–7,000. Lodrisio Visconti was imprisoned in an iron cage in

San Colombano al Lambro San Colombano al Lambro (Western Lombard dialects, Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan. San Colombano al Lambro is an exclave o ...

until 1349, when Azzone and Luchino died and Giovanni Visconti freed him.

Legend

According to a legend, St. Ambrosius himself had appeared in the battle from a white cloud, riding a horse and leading the Milanese in the decisive moments. To celebrate the event, Giovanni Visconti had a church and an abbey built, called ''Sant'Ambrogio della Vittoria'' ("St. Ambrose of the Victory"). Until 1581, every February 21 a procession was held from Milan to Parabiago to remember the victory.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Parabiago 1339 in Europe 1330s in the Holy Roman Empire 14th century in Italy

Background

Battle

Legend

See also

Notes

Sources