Cangrande I della Scala was sole ruler of Verona between the death of his brother Alboino in 1311 and his own in 1329. During this time he conquered or in other ways obtained the submission of Vicenza, Feltre, Belluno, Padua Treviso and several minor towns and castles, becoming the most important magnate of Eastern Lombardy and the unquestioned champion of the Ghibelline cause in Northern Italy.
He had also been chosen as Imperial Vicar for Mantua and, after Treviso, would probably have moved against that city, but he suddenly died in the just conquered Treviso, at the age of 38 years. He was succeeded by his nephew Mastino II (gotta love the Scaliger's names as Cangrande is literally "Big Dog" and Mastino is "Mastiff"), who enlarged the domain of Verona by conquering Brescia and buying Parma and Lucca. The Veronese empire however soon collapsed, with Mastino defeated by a league proposed by Venice and to which most other Italian signorie took part. After that the Della Scala only controlled Verona and Vicenza, and basically extinguished themselves in a couple of generations of vicious backstabbing and fratricides.
A modern autoptical exam of his remains showed significant traces of digitalis in his stomach. Digitalis is a powerful poison extracted from the foxglove plant. This means that his death was very likely due to intentional poisoning (or accidental over dosage of a medicine containing digitalis).
Absent his poisoning, I think he could have lived rather longer, probably solidifying his rule as a stable regional state and possibly more. He seeemed to have good relationship with Venice (he was made citizen of Venice in 1329, an honor seldom granted to foreigners), and the two states could maybe cultivate a sort of symbiotic relationship. Apart from his warlike character, he seemed to be a good, although autocratic ruler, whose statutes lasted very long in Verona and who usually respected local laws and customs, while constantly strenghtening his power by a rather opportunistic series of military campaigns.
He was also a patron of letters and arts, most notably hosting in Verona the famous Florentine exile Dante Alighieri, who probably wrote there most of the third canticle of his Commedia.
Obviously the nature of Italian affairs is that each Signoria that grows too strong will face league after league, but maybe a longer lived Cangrande can be an interesting POD, to avoid the usual "Visconti unites Italy" trope. A major problem here is the absence of legitimate heirs, with Giovanna di Svevia, Cangrande's wife, born in 1280 and never bearing him any children, while he fathered at least seven out of wedlock. Maybe she could die instead of Cangrande and he would marry a younger and more fertile wife, but this still leaves a teenaged heir at best when Cangrande finally dies, which would be very dangerous.
Thoughts, suggestions from the members who are better versed than me in the late medieval period?
He had also been chosen as Imperial Vicar for Mantua and, after Treviso, would probably have moved against that city, but he suddenly died in the just conquered Treviso, at the age of 38 years. He was succeeded by his nephew Mastino II (gotta love the Scaliger's names as Cangrande is literally "Big Dog" and Mastino is "Mastiff"), who enlarged the domain of Verona by conquering Brescia and buying Parma and Lucca. The Veronese empire however soon collapsed, with Mastino defeated by a league proposed by Venice and to which most other Italian signorie took part. After that the Della Scala only controlled Verona and Vicenza, and basically extinguished themselves in a couple of generations of vicious backstabbing and fratricides.
A modern autoptical exam of his remains showed significant traces of digitalis in his stomach. Digitalis is a powerful poison extracted from the foxglove plant. This means that his death was very likely due to intentional poisoning (or accidental over dosage of a medicine containing digitalis).
Absent his poisoning, I think he could have lived rather longer, probably solidifying his rule as a stable regional state and possibly more. He seeemed to have good relationship with Venice (he was made citizen of Venice in 1329, an honor seldom granted to foreigners), and the two states could maybe cultivate a sort of symbiotic relationship. Apart from his warlike character, he seemed to be a good, although autocratic ruler, whose statutes lasted very long in Verona and who usually respected local laws and customs, while constantly strenghtening his power by a rather opportunistic series of military campaigns.
He was also a patron of letters and arts, most notably hosting in Verona the famous Florentine exile Dante Alighieri, who probably wrote there most of the third canticle of his Commedia.
Obviously the nature of Italian affairs is that each Signoria that grows too strong will face league after league, but maybe a longer lived Cangrande can be an interesting POD, to avoid the usual "Visconti unites Italy" trope. A major problem here is the absence of legitimate heirs, with Giovanna di Svevia, Cangrande's wife, born in 1280 and never bearing him any children, while he fathered at least seven out of wedlock. Maybe she could die instead of Cangrande and he would marry a younger and more fertile wife, but this still leaves a teenaged heir at best when Cangrande finally dies, which would be very dangerous.
Thoughts, suggestions from the members who are better versed than me in the late medieval period?