Stairway to glory: a late medieval Italy TL

Stairway to Glory: a late medieval Italy TL



Prologue: A plot averted



21 July 1329, Treviso, Palazzo del Vescovado


The great Ghibelline lord turned and tossed in the bed who had belonged to Treviso's bishop, his strong body and keen intellect helpless against the pain that was lacerating his bowels.
It had been that spring water drinking it had been a temptation impossible to resist after a whole day on horseback, scouting the defenses of Treviso. But its crystal clear appearance belied a deadly potential.


The cold liquid must have caused a devastating imbalance in his bodily humors, like when contrarian currents meet and turn the sea into a foamy and angry monster, ready to devour men and ships alike... So, that was the end of his life? Not honorably in the field of battle, nor old and satiated in his beloved Verona, but broken by a vile illness in a stranger city? And to think that he had still so much to do...


Cangrande was interrupted in his feverish reflections by the sound of approaching steps; he turned his face towards the sound, and saw in the half-darkness of the bedroom the now familiar figure of his physician, bringing with him something, probably the foul drink that he called a medicine. Funny how that could bring back a life that was about to leave this world because of a much fairer drink... Then – suddenly – the last few days' routine was interrupted by an unexpected commotion.


A smaller figure came in running like if it was hounded by an hell spawn, he ducked and managed to avoid the stunned door-guards, and continued his rush towards Cangrande, while screaming something barely intelligible at first, but that quickly became terribly clear: “Don't drink of that chalice, m'lord, Death is in it!” “Guards, stop this fool! He'll...” the physician was however interrupted by the figure, now recognizable as one of the court pages, tackling him.


Immediately after the door-guards reached the scuffle and, while one pinned the boy to the ground under menace of his sword, the other helped the medic back on his feet. The medicinal potion had however been irremediably spilled.


Cangrande made an effort to put himself upright and commanded silence, in a weak but still authoritative voice. Surprisingly, he addressed the young page, who was literally a few inches away from summary execution, asking him his name and the reason behind his actions: “...and remember boy, I will reward truth with honor, lie with death” “I had been fetched by Lord Alberto” came the stammering answer of the now terrorized youth “but got lost in the palace and entered messer Alciato's [the medic] room. He sent me away, but I had already seen him putting a bunch of foxglove flowers in the mortar, too many of them. Enough to kill a warhorse, I know this because my father is an apothecary in Vicenza...”.


Alciato protested his innocence, but Cangrande ordered that him and the boy be both hold under guard, while the medic's room was examined and another physician, the Jew Melchiorre of Venice, was called to attend to the great ghibelline lord's health. A loaf of bread, soaked with the spilled “medicine” was given to eat to a dog, which died in great pain within the hour. This appeared proof enough to start an harsher questioning of the physician, who soon broke down, confessing that he had been paid to poison his lord. He was tortured until he revealed the Della Scala heir apparent, Mastino II, as the hand behind the plot.


Under Melchiorre's care Cangrande quickly made a complete recovery, ordering that the young page, named Oberto Zeni, to be made a squire in his retinue and to be given the title to a small but fertile land from those confiscated from the defeated Trevisan nobles. Alciato was instead brought to Verona, where he was hanged in the ancient Roman arena, while the treacherous Mastino (against whom no concrete evidence emerged, besides the physician's word and Cangrande's own suspects) was forced into a convent.
His brother Alberto had not been been linked to the plot, but nonetheless it appeared improbable for him to have been completely in the dark about his brothers plans, and he fell from his uncle's favors, with Cangrande starting to think of ways to ensure the succession of his illegitimate son Bartolomeo, having no more hope for legitimate sons, as his wife was now more almost fifty years old and most probably barren.


Verona-Scaligera-1.jpg




Cangrande's musings on strategy



After the conquest of Treviso, Cangrande was without doubt the most powerful lord in Lombardy, even stronger than the Visconti in Milan, but he needed to legitimize his rule, or it would evaporate at his death, like it happened to the despot Ezzelino da Romano almost eighty years before. The emperor could maybe be convinced to revive the ancient margravial title of Verona and Treviso, but he would also need the alliance or at least the acquiescence of most of his neighbors, especially Venice, that appeared very concerned about Veronese expansionism so close to the Lagoon, and, although military weak, had the financial power and diplomatic finesse to create powerful alliances. Cangrande had always pursued a policy of friendship with the trading city, and hoped that it could be made to see the advantages of cooperation, rather than hostility with Verona.


To the North East the Patriarcate of Aquileia was hostile, but didn't pose an immediate danger, especially with the Counts of Gorizia as loyal allies of the Della Scala.


To the South the Estensi family of Ferrara was relatively friendly and could maybe be persuaded to become an ally, maybe through marriage. To the South West, Mantua was in the hand of Ludovico Gonzaga thanks to the support of Veronese troops, but it was not certain that the ambitious Gonzaga would always remember to whom he owed his fortunes... maybe one day it would became necessary for the Veronese to directly control that strategic stronghold on the mid course of the Po river.


Finally, to the West, was Brescia and further the lands of western Lombardy, where Milan and its Visconti rulers held an hegemony, challenged however by the Guelph factions powerful in many comuni. The Visconti made for good allies: together Milan and Verona could be an invincible bulwark for the rights of the Emperor against any Guelph league, although Cangrande could imagine a time when conflict between the two could erupt, as, like Sparta and Athens in the Greece of old, only one city could hold the hegemony over the Po valley.


At the moment however the biggest problem was Brescia, as Cangrande hosted a great number of Ghibelline exiles from the cities, who had pledged it to him, if only he helped them with his army to dislodge the Guelphs who had expelled them some years before. Honor and expansionist desires would compel him to heed them and mount a campaign, but the risk of upsetting the delicate balance of power in Lombardy and to upset the Milanese made it a decision that needed time to be pondered.


Author's Notes:


Hi everybody! I come back with a new timeline, this time not set in XIX century Italy, but instead in the late middle ages. I hope the somewhat narrative prologue got your attention, but from now on the updates will mostly be more normal, the next one will be an introduction, detailing the rise to power of the Della Scala's family on Verona and Cangrande's earlier life, then the Timeline will begin to diverge in earnest from OTL.


The POD here is obviously Cangrande I della Scala not dying in1329, when he was just 38. The 2004 authopsiy on Cangrande's partially mumified body evidenced a digitalis purpurea poisoning as the most probable cause of death. It could well have been accidental, as it was used as a medicine, but I chose to go with the murder plot hypothesis, which is imho more probable and interesting. I implicated Mastino to take him out (?) of the succession line, as he was a terrible politician, squandering all his uncle's accomplishments in about five years. Clearly the problem of succession is very big. Ideally I would have Giovanna di Svevia die way earlier, so that Cangrande can remarry (who would be an interesting bride?) and have a legitimate heir. Otherwise one of the illegitimate sons could be legitimized, if a cooperatve enough pope can be bribed.



The minor characters are clearly my inventions, I hope they are somewhat plausible.
 
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I'll be waiting for more! Italian TL's are always welcome!

Regarding Giovana, if you go with the murder plot against Cangrande, you could always make her drink the poison instead of her husband. ;)
 
I bookmarked this thread almost immediately when I saw it, but only now had the time to sit down and read it.

Late medieval TLs unfortunately don't tend to get a lot of attention on these boards unless they involve the Byzantines, but I'll definitely be following it closely. I like what I see so far, and look forward to future updates!

What does Cangrande control at this point in time? I'm not that familiar with the subject, even if it intrigues me a lot, and the only map close to Cangrande's time I could find was this, which is sets almost 30 years too early.
 
I'll be waiting for more! Italian TL's are always welcome!

Regarding Giovana, if you go with the murder plot against Cangrande, you could always make her drink the poison instead of her husband. ;)

Thank you! Unfortunately I resolved the poison plot in a different way, so I think killing off Giovanna would be too much. Living longer Cangrande could probably still train his nephew Alberto to be a decent ruler, while I have plans for one of the illegitimate sons. Those plans will possibly involve your namesake family...

I bookmarked this thread almost immediately when I saw it, but only now had the time to sit down and read it.

Late medieval TLs unfortunately don't tend to get a lot of attention on these boards unless they involve the Byzantines, but I'll definitely be following it closely. I like what I see so far, and look forward to future updates!

What does Cangrande control at this point in time? I'm not that familiar with the subject, even if it intrigues me a lot, and the only map close to Cangrande's time I could find was this, which is sets almost 30 years too early.

Thanks for the attention! An update will come very shortly, where I will briefly touch on the sequence of Cangrande's conquests up to the POD and then bring the story forward a bit. It is in fact not easy to find mid XIV century maps of Italy, but the one you linked is useful enough: In 1329 Cangrande controlled (more or less directly) the cities and territories of Verona, Vicentia, Feltrum, Bellunum, Padua and Tarvisium. The borders look more or less correct, apart from the fact that I think that Venice controlled more of the Lagoon hinterlands, making up the Dogado.
 
Introduction


The rise of the Scaligers


The origins of the Della Scala family are somewhat obscure, with their first documented member being a certain Arduin, a landowner and clothes merchant who lived in the XII century. The family rose to prominence in Verona after the short, but extremely violent times of Ezzelino da Romano's rule. It was Leonardino Della Scala, better known as Mastino [Mastiff], the one who managed to gradually turn Verona from a Comune to his personal Signoria, basing his power on the support of the smallfolk and the merchants, finally becoming Capitano del Popolo in 1260. Since then, Verona became a staunch member of the Ghibelline faction, notwithstanding a Guelph plot in 1277, which succeeded in killing Mastino, but not in toppling the Della Scala family. Mastino's brother Alberto took control of the city, killing or exiling most of the Guelph sympathizers, seizing their properties and destroying their homes. The Veronese Guelphs would never recover from such a blow, while the Della Scala family consolidated its hold on the city's institutions.


Alberto I's rule was relatively peaceful and coincided with a time of significant development and economic growth for Verona, where several important building projects were brought to completion, including an enlargement of the city walls towards the north, the building of the Domus Mercatorum as seat for the merchant's guild and the restoration of several roads and bridges, like the ancient Roman bridge over the Adige river. During the 1290's there was a series of limited and victorious wars against Trento and Ferrara, which contributed to increasing the prestige of Verona and to tighten its alliance with the Bonacolsi family of Mantua and the Castelbarco family of Rovereto. Finally the marriage of Alberto's son Alboino with Caterina, daughter of Matteo Visconti was an important diplomatic success, reinforcing the alliance between Milan and Verona.


Alberto died in 1301, succeeded by his son, Bartolomeo, who died in 1304 without issue, leaving Verona to his brothers Alboino and Can Francesco, better known as Cangrande. In 1305 and 1308 Cangrande participated in wars against Ferrara and Parma, but, being underage, remained in a subordinate position to his brother, until 1308, when Alboino had him raised to the honor of Captain of the People of Verona, thus joining him in co-rulership.


In 1310 Emperor Henry VII of Luxemburg descended to Italy, initially trying to reconcile the various urban factions by installing vicars coming from different cities. In Verona this meant that the Scaligers would have to submit to the Pisan Vanni Zeno and reconcile with the Guelph Sambonifacio family. This plan encountered however insurmountable difficulties and in 1311 Henry decided to appoint Alboino and Cangrande as Imperial Vicars in Verona. At the same time, Vicenza was subordinated to Padua, sowing the seeds for the hostility between Verona and Padua.


In 1311 the Veronese knights were besieging the Guelph city of Brescia together with the Imperial army, but a plague decimated the besiegers before the city's final surrender. Among the ill was Alboino, who died in November 1311, leaving the young Cangrande as sole ruler of Verona.


Cangrande's wars



At the time Verona was smaller and poorer than Padua, with Cangrande allegedly having difficulties in paying his tribute to the Imperial Vicar of Lombardy, but the fates of the city, and of the Scala family, changed when, after the Paduans came to dispute with the Emperor, Cangrande was elected Imperial Vicar of Vicenza, after having defeated the local Paduan garrison. He soon managed to gain the trust and loyalty of the major families of Vicenza, a city that from then remained part of the core Scaliger domains.

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The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, with Giotto's masterwork frescoes.

It would be too long and tedious to recollect here the minutiae of about sixteen years of wars between Verona and Padua; suffice to say that, after an initial period of difficulties, when Verona and Vicenza were directly menaced by Paduan arms and often saved by the personal bravery and skill at arms of Cangrande, the Scaliger steadily gained the upper arm in the conflict, especially after his conquest of Feltre and Belluno (1321). Padua had steadily become more isolated, together with her ally Treviso and, in 1328, her ruler Marsilio da Carrara decided to submit to Cangrande, in exchange of his keeping the post of Captain General of the city.
The peace was sealed by a marriage between Mastino, son of the late Alboino, and Taddea da Carrara.


In the same year, Cangrande supported with his armigers a bid for power by the ambitious Ludovico Gonzaga in the city of Mantua. There ruled the Bonacolsi family, longtime allies of the Scala, but their influence was waning, thus Cangrande, in an uncharacteristic show of ruthlessness decided to support the Gonzaga, probably hoping that they would be more docile subordinates. Thus in August 1328 the Gonzaga seized power, killing Rinaldo Bonacolsi and exiling his family and supporters.
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The expulsion of the Bonacolsi from Mantua, in a late XV century impression.


The next campaign season, Cangrande, after having received the honor of becoming a citizen of Venice and having the title of Vicar of Mantua bestowed upon him, decided to move against Treviso, together with a large group of exiles from that city. The city didn't have any allies protecting it, and after a brief siege, its lord Guecellone Tempesta surrendered, and Cangrande could triumphantly enter Treviso. The conquest of the old Trevisan March was now complete.


There Cangrande almost fell victim to a conspiracy organized by his nephew Mastino, but having survived the poisoning attempt and relegated Mastino to a remote monastery in the Bishopric of Trento, the Sanctuary of St. Romedio, he managed to keep firm control of his vast domains.

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The Sanctuary as it appears today, at the time only the top edifices had been built.

Alberto, Mastino's brother and only other legitimate male member of the Della Scala family, had been tainted by suspect of participation in his brother's plot, but renewed his profession of loyalty to Cangrande, who decided that the best course of action would be to keep him close and make it clear that he would be the sole heir to the Scaliger Household (so that he would not feel tempted to plot against his uncle) and to groom him, so that he could one day become a capable ruler, one that could keep and maybe even increase his family's power.


Cangrande's diplomacy



A power that had increased drastically in the last years, now Cangrande was one of the most powerful and richest lords in Italy, but he understood that his rise was bound to create fear and envy among his neighbours: Verona needed to slow the pace of its expansionism and find a way of cohexisting with Venezia and Milan, the most dangerous of those rivals.


Milan was ostensibly an ally, but it was clear that the moment had come for some clear words with the Visconti over the definition of the respective areas of influence in Lombardy, especially with Brescia lacerated by civic struggles and bound to become center of a military campaign in the next useful season. After a series of meetings and with the exchange of rich gifts, Luchino Visconti and Cangrande della Scala reaffirmed their alliance, in the name of the common Ghibelline cause, and agreed that Verona would have the right to intervene against the Guelphs in Brescia and to decide who the ruler of that city would be, provided they wouldn't directly annex it to Verona, but it would not try to expand in the lands to the west of the Oglio river, where Milan would be free to do as it pleased. Both cities also pledged to help the other against internal and external enemies.


The Republic of Venice had expressed its concerns against the growing power of Verona ever since the conquest of Padua, and had even tried a final mediation to preserve the independence of Treviso. The relationship with Cangrande had however always been good, so the city's authorities proved very receptive to his calls for negotiations, initially about the borders between the respective domains, but later growing to a comprehensive friendship and trade treaty.


The negotiations proved to be rather difficult, especially due to the death of the old Doge Giovanni Soranzo, but in the end they were successful and, on Easter 1330, a treaty was signed by Cangrande and Doge Francesco Dandolo. The convention, known as the Beata Concordia, set the basis for a fruitful cooperation between the merchant republic and the land-focused Scaliger power. Its terms provided for some slight border corrections to Venice' favour, including the aasuurance that the Della Scala would not build any fortification in a ten miles strip near the borders with Venice. Cangrande accepted then the presence of a Venetian Consul in Scaliger controlled cities, as well as a significant reduction on the fees and dues on riverine navigation for Venetian citizens. In exchange Venice gave some privileges to Scaliger merchants and their goods, when compared with other foreign traders, giving them a degree of access to her overseas empire and some discounts on tariffs.
The treaty came short of creating a military alliance, but it stated a reciprocal pledge for “perpetual” peace and friendship.


Cangrande's diplomatical efforts during 1329/1330 were also directed at Ludwig of Bavaria, the Holy Roman Emperor, whom he trie to persuade to bestow upon him the title of Margrave of Treviso, that would have further given legitimity to the Della Scala position of power in northeastern Italy. The Bavarian was however wary of Cane's rise and refused to give anything more substantial than the title of Vicar for Treviso, notwithstanding the luxurious gifts given to him and the significant tributes promised by Cangrande for the title of Margrave.


This situation of relative stabilty would however soon be shaken by the unlikely alliance formed by the Papal Legate Bertrand de Poyet and the ambitious John of Bohemia, who would descend into Italy in 1330, heeding the call of the Guelphs from Brescia, worried about the encroaching of the Ghibelline exiles, supported by Veronese and Milanese arms.
 
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The descent of John of Bohemia



Cangrande's campaign against Brescia had started well, with several villages and castles on the Brescian side of the Lake of Garda surrendering to the Veronese army, commanded by Spinetta Malaspina of Fosdinovo. The Guelphs of Brescia had however called to their rescue the King of Bohemia, John of Luxembourg, who descended in Italy at the head of a small but powerful force of German knights. Brescia opened its doors to John, while the Veronese retreated to their castle of Peschiera, wishing to avoid open conflict with the King.


The effect of John's descent was impressive, with most Lombard comuni, including Parma, Piacenza, Vercelli, Pavia and Lucca, quickly submitting to him, while great numbers of mercenaries joined his cause. Even Milan accepted the formal supremacy of King John, with Azzone Visconti acting as his vicar in the city.
John needed however legitimization for his conquests, and decided to turn to the Papacy to receive it. He thus formed an alliance with Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget, who was the Papal Legate in Italy at the time and controlled Bologna since 1327. During 1331 Bertrand conquered Forlì and extended his influence to most of Romagna and to the March of Ancona.


An unexpected alliance



The alliance between John and Bertrand thus controlled large swathes of territory in central and northern Italy, completely upsetting the balance that had formed as a result of the earlier descent in Italy of Ludwig of Bavaria. Even the Guelph King Robert d'Anjou of Naples, who had until then military supported Bertand's efforts at restoring Papal temporal power in the Patrimonium Sancti Petri, was concerned by the sudden rise of this power and decided to act in order to curtail it.
Therefore he promoted a temporary common front between Guelphs and Ghibellines to rid Italy from the meddling of the Papal-Bohemian duo: most independent Italian entities became part of the so-called League of Ferrara and, since 1332, the tide started to turn against John of Bohemia. The heterogeneous league included Milan, Verona, Naples, Firenze, Mantua and Ferrara, united only by the desire to preserve their independence, gravely menaced by the alliance between John and Bertrand.


A combined Veronese-Milanese force conquered Brescia (which was given to the Scaliger client Guecellone Tempesta) and Bergamo (which entered the domain of the Visconti family), while the forces of Ferrara and Firenze fought against Charles, son of John of Bohemia, in the southern part of the Po valley.
In the end the King, seeing that his Italian adventure was meeting with ever increasing resistance, decided to cut his losses and in October 1333 left Italy in relative good terms with his enemies, who paid him homage and didn't try to hamper his retreat.


The Battle of Ferrara



Meanwhile Bertrand de Pouget had managed to collect an impressive army and had almost completed his objective of bringing back Romagna into the fold of Papal rule. The only major obstacle left was Ferrara, at the time ruled by Obizzo d'Este and his brothers. The papal army, which included troop from Bologna and Romagna, as well as a numerous French contingent, lead by the Count d'Armagnac, defeated a first Estense force on the Panaro river, before besieging the city itself. The Estensi fought valiantly, despite their numerical inferiority, and resisted until the arrival, in april 1333, of the League's reinforcements, the bulk of which was made up of cavalry, under the personal command of Cangrande himself. Their attack coincided with a general sortie from the besieged city and the Papal army was utterly defeated and routed. The casualties on the Papal side were terrible, and many where the illustrious prisoners taken on that day, foremost the Count d'Armagnac, who was taken by the Scaligers and freed only after payment of a princely 50.000 ducats ransom.


After the battle of Ferrara the war's outcome had been all but decided and Bertrand himself soon faced a revolt in Bologna and could barely escape Italy with his life thanks to an armed escort sent by Florence. Now it remained only to divide the cities who had pledged themselves to Bertrand or John between the members of the League.


The spoils go to the victors



Thus, between 1333 and 1336, the Visconti obtained Vercelli, Pavia, Crema, Cremona and Piacenza, besides Bergamo, taken in 1332; the Gonzaga took Reggio while the Estensi conquered Modena after a long fight and with the mediation of her allies. The Scaligers had conquered Brescia in 1332, and ended up controlling Parma and Lucca too, chiefly thanks to the actions of their captain Marsilio da Carrara of Padua. Cangrande was however scarcely interested in those two cities, that although rich and strategically placed, where too far from the core of his domains and were coveted by other members of the League. Lucca, that was claimed by Florence, proved to be an especially difficult diplomatic hassle.


The attentions of Cangrande were at the time more concentrated to the East, where his allies, the Counts of Gorizia, had come to dispute with the Patriarcate of Aquileia, opening up an interesting avenue of expansion, and a way to secure the northeastern borders, anchoring them to the powerful natural bulwark of the Alps. Thus in 1335 Cangrande sold the city of Parma to the local noble family of the Rossi for 30.000 ducats, and in 1336 he renounced all his rights on Lucca in favour of Florence, apart from the town of Pontremoli, which he left to his client Spinetta Malaspina of Fosnovo.
The Florentine had however to pay 100.000 ducats, less than half of what had initially been asked, but still a huge sum, which was soon to be expended by Cangrande in praparation for the coming war against the Patriarcate of Aquileia.


The brief Scaliger interlude in Lucca (1334-1336) was however rather important for the economical development of the Scaliger lands, because Lucca was at the time one of the main centers of silk production in Italy and, by controlling it, Cangrande's agents could observe the secrets of its production and bring them back to Verona, along with a number of silkworms, which were used to implant the first basis for the silk industry in the Veronese territory.


Author's notes:
This is still mostly similar to OTL, apart from the fact that Cangrande is not so pigheaded as his nephew Mastino was IOTL and thus finds a compromise over Parma and Lucca, instead of inimicating everyone and giving pretext to the formation of a League against himslef. The other significant divergence is the, for now only hinted at, conflict with Aquileia, on which more will be said in the next update. Comments and criticisms are welcome!
 
Ask, and you shall receive!

This map is not good, I know, but it should give a fair idea of what I am talking about. As you can see, northern Italy was rather fragmented at the time...

I hope the map is readable enough! Obviously the entities depicted here are not modern states, the degree of control and autonomy of the various cities and feuds varies vastly.

Mantua is in pink, to show the relative deference of the Gonzaga towards the Della Scala (in red).

altaItalia_ingr.jpg
 
The de facto alliance between Milan and Verona could very easily butterfly away any and all attempt of expansion in the mainland by Venice, something that might actually end up being a good thing for the Serenissima, in the long run at least. And I think the linguistic makeup of northern Italy will be altered by these new developments, too: Verona's dialect of the Venetian language is closer to Milan's dialect of the Lombard language than Venice's is, and the lack of a lagoon superstratum on the dialects of eastern Lombardy and western Veneto might make the languages spoken from Novara to Padova as similar to each other as OTL's Czech and Slovak. In fact, "Veneto" might not develop a separate identity at all, and the medieval concept of Lombardy as "northern Italy in its entirety, minus a few bits here and there" could live on.
 
Interesting speculation Neoteros! The Veronese-Milanese axis is bound to break down, sooner or later, but yes, one of my objectives with this timeline is exploring a world where Venice stays as a purely maritime power (is it feasible though, without the manpower from terrafirma?).
one of the big problems for the Scala family will be avoiding Milan and Venice ganging up against them, together with managing to create a stable "state" that doesn't fragmentate with each generation.

I am not a linguist, so I am not sure how dialects will evolve: your points are plausible, but you have to consider that there will still be heavy contacts with Venice, it being the trade hub for N-E Italy, so it's dialect will probably exercise a significant influence, although lesser than OTL.

As to the keeping of a common Lombard identity, I am not sure, it depends on how long it takes for a single power to control both Milan and Verona probably. I was thinking that the name for the area might be a variation on the term Marca, reviving the terminology used during the high middle ages. Actually, I had in mind something like "Trimarca" (Verona, Treviso, Friuli), as a counterpoint to OTL's Triveneto.
 
I'd certainly welcome a tl whereVenice doesn't betray her original brief by staying focused on trade and sea power and avoiding entanglement on the mainland. I do not see any potentially troublesome lack of manpower either, since the rowers on the galleys were not coming from Italian mainland but rather from Venice herself or from Istria and Dalmatia. Same thing for the Arsenal workers or the marine soldiers (who anyway at this point in time we're not as specialised as it would happen by late fifteenth century). The beauty of a lack of alternative is that investment is kept into trade or in finance rather than being locked down in land.

I'm not so sure re the unavoidable future show down between Milan and Verona.
Both states would have strong common interests such as improving navigation on the Po and regulating commerce to and from Central Europe. It might be attractive for them to exert an hegemony on north and central Italy, notionally as imperial vicars but more and more as independent players. It depends on a lot of different variables - such as what happens with Florence and bologna, the role to be played by the Naples Anjous, the conflict among the seafaring republics, the impact of the Black Death and so on- but the fourteenth century can be a treasure trove of pods for ah plots
 
I'm not so sure re the unavoidable future show down between Milan and Verona.
Both states would have strong common interests such as improving navigation on the Po and regulating commerce to and from Central Europe. It might be attractive for them to exert an hegemony on north and central Italy, notionally as imperial vicars but more and more as independent players. It depends on a lot of different variables - such as what happens with Florence and bologna, the role to be played by the Naples Anjous, the conflict among the seafaring republics, the impact of the Black Death and so on- but the fourteenth century can be a treasure trove of pods for ah plots

Yes, that's why I choose to set my TL in this time period :)
Clearly nothing is predetermined and in the short term at least there is a strong convergence of interests between Visconti and Scaligeri, but I think that in the long term a crisis will likely come up, and at that point it won't be easy for Verona to win: Milan is very powerful and won't be easy to subdue, at all. One thing that occurs to me is that Milan was apparently hardly touched by the Black Death, but this could be butterflied away, which would weaken Milan a fair bit.
For now Cangrande must manage to transform his collection of city-states into a stable and more or less cohese regional state, which is not impossible, as he was imho a keen politician (as we can infer from Dante, among other things) and the north eastern part of Italy offers various possibilities of legitimation (foremost a sort of resurrection of the Marca del Friuli).
 
I just read the last couple of updates, and I like your plausible and realistic take on things so far, especially the relationship between the major players in Italian politics.

The conflict with Aquileia sounds like it will be interesting, but also potentially very risky for Cangrande given the value of the area as an Imperial access point to Italy.
 
The Patriarchate of Aquileia and the County of Gorizia



The Patriarchate of Aquileia had enjoyed temporal power over the lands of Friuli since 1077, when the King of the Germans Henry IV had divided the lands of the March of Verona, assigning Friuli to Patriarch Sieghard of Beilstein. Later, the Patriarchate had expanded northwards towards the Cadore area and eastwards in Istria, enjoying periods of significant prosperity, notwithstanding the frequent earthquakes that damaged some of its cities, especially Aquileia, that had been steadily decaying for centuries and whose role had been taken over by Udine and Cividale (Forum Iulii).


The Patriarchs had however recently lost some of their power in favor of Henry, Count of Gorizia, who had come to usurp temporal power over most of Friuli and had controlled for a time Treviso and Padua, even inflicting a serious defeat to the Veronese at Bassanello in 1320. Henry had however died unexpectedly in 1323, being succeeded by his infant son John Henry, under the tutorship of his mother, the shrewd Beatrix von Wittelsbach, and of his uncle Albert II and, after his death in 1325, his sons Meinhard, Albert and Henry.


The dynastic uncertainty surrounding the House of Gorizia favored a comeback from the Patriarchate, in the person of the octogenarian, but able and energetic, Patriarch Bertrand de saint Geniès, who took office in 1334. Bertrand engaged in a politic of reforms and activism, aimed at regaining the influence and temporal power lost over the last few decades. He proved initially successful in curbing the power of local knights and nobles, in particular against Rizzardo III da Camino, whom he defeated in battle and whose lands were confiscated, bringing back Patriarchal authority over the mountain areas of Cadore. In 1335 Bertrand started a dispute with the Count of Gorizia and his tutors over the ownership of the villages of Venzone, Braulins and Cormons.

The dispute soon degenerated to armed skirmishes and the skirmishes to open warfare, with Patriarchine forces quickly capturing Venzone. Bertrand personally commanded his army and reportedly officiated Mass in the conquered town while wearing a full set of armor. The Gorizians, notwithstanding the help they received from the city of Cividale (offended for being spurned by the Patriarch in Udine's favor), where in grave difficulties, so in 1336 they resolved themselves to ask for Veronese help, counting on the alliance that had some years before been suggellated by the marriage between Agnese di Gorizia and Alberto II della Scala.


The War of the Anti-Patriarchine Alliance


Cangrande, eager to expand his domains to the East, was quick to reply to their call for help and in Spring 1336 sent Marsilio da Carrara to Friuli with five hundred horses, to avoid a defeat of the Goritians, which appeared to be imminent. Cangrande himself followed soon after, with Alberto and most of his army, made up of numerous mercenary knights and contingents from the urban militias from the cities he controlled.
Cangrande managed to involve in the fight Venice too, which had often had quarrels with the Patriarchate and had been promised its lands along the Adriatic coast and in Istria. It was in fact due to Venetian naval support that Aquileia was easily conquered. Several castles passed into allies' hands thanks to bribes being paid by Cangrande (who had large funds left over from selling off Parma and Lucca), but progress were otherwise quite slow, with many castles and strong points remaining loyal to Bertrand and necessitating either lengthy sieges or costly assaults. Meanwhile the Patriarchine forces refused to accept an open battle, opting instead for damaging raids on the allies' supply lines and on the villages they controlled. In the rare occasions when the two forces managed to get in contact, the results were indecisive, with the Patriarchines always managing to retreat in good order.


As the campaign stretched itself into autumn, many soldiers had to be let home for the harvest season, and the wars' pace slowed down, while Bertrand's diplomatic efforts started to have effect: after a mediation attempt by Albert II of Austria failed, Pope Benedict XII menaced to excommunicate Cangrande, if he dared to attack Udine, which was the most important city still in the hands of the Patriarchate and one of the few that had not yet capitulated; moreover, it looked like Charles Robert d'Anjou, King of Hungary was going to side with Bertrand. Finally, Mastino II della Scala, after years of seclusion in a convent, managed to escape, taking refuge in Mantua, whose Gonzaga rulers decided to support him, probably hoping that he would then leave them as sole rulers of the city, while Cangrande, as Imperial Vicar, pretended to have the ultimate world over Mantuan matters. The escape was aided by a small band of German mercenary knights and probably had been long planned, so it was in fact most probably a coincidence and not, as many contemporary sources speculate, a fruit of Bertrand's intrigues.


Mastino's escape was underestimated by Cangrande, who sent back to Verona only a small group of loyal knights and counseled his illegitimate son Bartolomeo, who had been left there as Capitano del Popolo and overseer of the city, to stay on guard from possible coup de main attempts and reinforce the city's defenses.
More serious consequences came from the menace of excommunication and especially of Hungarian intervention, which caused Venice to back off, citing excessive risks for their trade and their dalmatian holdings, and to cease their logistical support for Cangrande, forcing him to turn to pillage in order to support his army.


The death of Alberto della Scala



At this point it is widely speculated that Cangrande was ready to accept a truce and retreat from Friuli, when something unexpected happened.


Alberto II, Cangrande's nephew and presumptive heir, while riding towards Treviso to raise reinforcements, fell in an ambush by Patriarchine forces. The small company managed, after an harsh fight, to escape the ambush, but Alberto had been hit by a crossbow bolt, and died some days after, probably because his wound had become infected.
Alberto II had never been Cangrande's favorite, even briefly falling out of favor in 1329, when he was suspected of having links to his brother's plot, but, nonetheless he was the heir, and retreating after his death would send a message of weakness that Cangrande could not tolerate or afford.
Thus, he decided to continue his advance against Udine, forcing Patriarch Bertrand to retread inside the city's walls and starting to siege it. This caused Pope Benedict to go through with his threats and, in November 1336, Cangrande was excommunicated.


Another effect of Alberto's death, was that the Hungarian king recalled the reinforcements that he had sent to Bertrand, stating that he didn't want to associate himself with those who used unchivalrous and unchristian means of war. In general the ambush which led to the Scaliger's death was widely considered as a premeditated assassination and not as an accident of war and thus widely condemned in the courts, generating indignation at the Patriarch and often outweighing the damage done by the excommunication.

udinemura.jpg

A view of medieval Udine


Mastino's return and the Gonzaga's betrayal



Two months later, while Udine, completely surrounded, on the brink of starvation and cut off from any hope of external relief appeared to be on the verge of surrender, Cangrande's camp was reached by disturbing news, coming from his domains: his nephew Mastino had collected a great mercenary army, including renowned German knights like Werner von Urslingen and Konrad von Landau, and was marching on Verona, after suddenly capturing the castles of Valeggio and Peschiera.Many milites and footmen bearing the ensigns of Mantua of the Gonzaga family had been seen together with the mercenaries, showing the extent of the Gonzaga betrayal against their benefactor.


Thus, while on the edge of victory, Cangrande risked to lose his hometown to the same person that had attempted to poison him less than eight years before and whose life he had chivalrously spared. Cangrande spared no time in organizing a relief force, leaving the conclusion of the siege to Marsilio da Padova and Albert of Gorizia, but he was also conscious that, as fast as his knights might ride through the March of Treviso, his arrival might be late: much depended on the capabilities of his son Bartolomeo and on the resolve of the meager forces with which he had to defend Verona.
 
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Exciting update! Things sure are going wrong for Cangrande all at once, aren't they? I suppose it never rains but it pours.

Thank you for your comments, I hope not to disappoint you!

Mastino's plot was part of the plan since the beginning and it makes sense to have it happen while most of the Veronese troops are away. As for how he managed to get himself an army, you have to consider that at the time there was a great number of German knights and men-at-arms left over from John of Bohemia's Italian adventure: in otl they suoported Lodrisio Visconti's bid for power in Milan and were defeated in the bloody battle of Parabiago (1339).
Mantua switching sides was to be expected isince they consider tgemselves independent, while Cangrande is trying to assert at least a form of suzeiranity over them.
Finally, researching the Patriarchate of Friuli I found out that Bertrand (a Neate for the Catholic Church, mind you) was a pretty badass figure, surely not a pushove, so the campaign had to be costlier and longer than what I had originally in mind.

Earlier, you expressed doubts that a conquest of Friuli would bring conflict with the HRE: this makes sense, but Cangrande at the moment is considered to be the paladin of imperial interests in Italy, and certainly preferable to a bishop sent straight from Avignon. In the future there I'll probably be conflicts with the Habsburgs about the inheritance of the lands of the House of Gorizia, but that's not an immediate concern.
 
Great chapter, that was quite good action!

And it seems that my Mantuan namesakes will get a lot of troubles in the near future... ;)
 
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