A Scaliger (Northern) Italy? WI Cangrande didn't die in 1329?

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?
 
No interest for this POD? I know it might be rather obscure, but...

Dante Alighieri held him in high regard, citing him in Paradise, Canto XVII:
“First refuge thou must find, first place of rest,
In the great Lombard’s courtesy, who bears,
Upon the ladder perch’d, the sacred bird. 70
He shall behold thee with such kind regard,
That ’twixt ye two, the contrary to that
Which ’falls ’twixt other men, the granting shall
Forerun the asking. With him shalt thou see
That mortal, who was at his birth imprest 75
So strongly from this star, that of his deeds
The nations shall take note. His unripe age
Yet holds him from observance; for these wheels
Only nine years have compasst him about.
But, ere the Gascon practise on great Harry, 80
Sparkles of virtue shall shoot forth in him,
In equal scorn of labours and of gold
His bounty shall be spread abroad so widely,
As not to let the tongues, e’en of his foes,
Be idle in its praise. Look thou to him, 85
And his beneficence: for he shall cause
Reversal of their lot to many people;
Rich men and beggars interchanging fortunes."

(Translation by Henry F.Cary, in The Harvard Classics, vol. 20, New York, 1909-1914. Available at http://www.bartleby.com/20/317.html)
 
Never knew Visconti Italy was a trope, people never seem to bother with medieval Italy to the best of my knowledge. Not an expert, but wouldn't the Della Scala run into the same problems as any other power in Italy that rose too quickly namely coalitions would be formed against them?
 
I like the idea, but I have doubts on this:

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.

Wasn't Venice at time already trying to secure territory in the mainland? Eventually there would be conflicts with Della Scala.
 
I like the idea, but I have doubts on this:



Wasn't Venice at time already trying to secure territory in the mainland? Eventually there would be conflicts with Della Scala.

Not really expanding on the mainland until the beginning of the xv century, and this might not happen if there is a strong enough state in OTL Veneto that gives Venice tax exemptions on riverine trade in exchange for financial and political support. One of the main causes of dispute in otl was Mastino's attempt at controlling salt production in Chioggia, which wss a vital Venetian interest, but Cangrande looks to be a much better politician than his nephew, and maybe the basis of a long term collaboration could be sown, had he lived longer. A possibility is an alliance against the Patriarcate of Aquileia.
Obviously one side of the other will in time probably get greedy and disrupt the harmony, but one of my aims here is to have Venice concentrate on its overseas Empire, avoiding Italian entanglements. As the saying goes "Coltivar el mar e lassar star la terra": cultivate the sea and leave the land to itself.

Never knew Visconti Italy was a trope, people never seem to bother with medieval Italy to the best of my knowledge. Not an expert, but wouldn't the Della Scala run into the same problems as any other power in Italy that rose too quickly namely coalitions would be formed against them?

Well, not really a trope, but they are by far the most common result that comes up if you look for things like " medieval Italian unification". There are several interesting threads about what Gian Galeazzo might have done, but no TLs that I know of.

The coalition problem is there: it caused Mastino II's defeat in OTL after all... My idea is having the Scala consolidate their holding in north eastern Italy, possibly with some kind of legitimation, like a ducal or margravial title, and establish themselves as a stable dinasty and a big player in Italy, gradually expanding via marriages and opportunistic warfare.
 
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Verona is well placed strategically to act as a big player. Unlikely to unify Italy of course, but might establish a lasting hegemony.
The big problem is, of course, Milan. A clash is highly likely and the ensuing dynamic might look a lot like Venice vs. Milan a century later. Verona, however, is better placed than Venice to contest the plain.
This might be interesting.
 
Verona is well placed strategically to act as a big player. Unlikely to unify Italy of course, but might establish a lasting hegemony.
The big problem is, of course, Milan. A clash is highly likely and the ensuing dynamic might look a lot like Venice vs. Milan a century later. Verona, however, is better placed than Venice to contest the plain.
This might be interesting.

I hoped in a response from someone as knowledgeable as you, thanks!

In any eventual TL it is clear that the clash with Milan would be an important focus point. Probably there will be an initial alliance in some kind of ghibelline front, that would later collapse, bringing to a series of war. Verona can win if it exploits internal squabblings among the Visconti.

In the longer run, the chief problem would be avoiding foreign meddling, which would be devastating (cf. the otl Italian Wars) but also difficult to avoid, because once a side becomes weaker, it will probably call in France/Aragon/HRE.
 
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