A Condottiero’s Battle for Influence in Northern Italy
Filippo Arcelli (Filippo Arcelli Fontana). Count and Lord of Piacenza, Castel San Giovanni, Borgonovo Val Tidone, Fiorenzuola d’Arda, Agazzano, Piozzano, Corano, Sarmato, Gazzola, Vezzano, Gragnano Trebbiense, and Pianello Val Tidone. Brother of Bartolomeo Arcelli, father-in-law of Taddeo d’Este, and brother-in-law of Lancillotto Beccaria.
Death: 1421, July
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
| 1404 | Arcelli | Parma | Emilia | Fights against the lord of Parma Ottobono Terzi, who has also seized Piacenza. | |
| 1408 | |||||
| …………….. | Parma | Ferrara | Emilia | Supports Ottobono Terzi against the Este. | |
| Aug. | Arcelli | dal Verme | Emilia | Takes possession of Rocca d’Olsizio at the expense of Jacopo dal Verme. | |
| …………….. | Facino Cane | Serves under the orders of Facino Cane. | |||
| 1412 | |||||
| May | Milano | Visconti | Lombardia | At the death of Facino Cane, in mid-month, a truce is proclaimed between the Count of Pavia Filippo Maria Visconti, Castellino, and Lancillotto Beccaria on one side and the Arcelli with their adherents on the other. Subsequently helps Filippo Maria Visconti against Astorre Visconti; has joint command of the troops with Castellino Beccaria and Matteo Tedesco. | |
| June | Lombardia | Enters Milan, aided by a popular uprising. | |||
| Sept. | Lombardia | In mid-month, at Milan’s Castello di Porta Giovia, Filippo Maria Visconti detaches from the district of Parma the lands of Castel San Giovanni and Borgonovo Val Tidone (plus another 22 villages, including Piozzano, Corano, Agazzano, Sarmato, Gazzola, Vezzano, Gragnano Trebbiense, Pianello Val Tidone) to create a county called Val di Tidone. The new fief is granted to Bartolomeo and Filippo Arcelli. Carmagnola is among the witnesses of the deed. | |||
| 1413 | |||||
| …………….. | Lombardia | Besieges Astorre Visconti in Monza. | |||
| Nov. | Lombardia | He is in Cantù with Carmagnola and Lancillotto Beccaria to attend the meeting between Visconti and Emperor Sigismund of Hungary. | |||
| 1414 | |||||
| Jan. | Lombardia | In Milan, at the Castello di Porta Giovia, observes the ceremony in which Visconti grants Monza to his wife, Beatrice di Tenda (widow of Facino Cane). | |||
| Mar. | Milano | Piacenza | Emilia | He is tasked by Visconti with occupying Piacenza. At the end of the month, he slips into the city at night and seizes the citadel. The castellan of Sant’Antonino surrenders after five days. Arcelli expels the garrison placed there by Sigismund of Hungary; the Duke of Milan is proclaimed lord of the city. | |
| Aug. | Lombardia | In Pavia, at the castle. Along with Ottone da Mandello, he serves as a witness to the appointment of Giorgio Benzoni as Count of Crema and Pandino. | |||
| Sept. | Lombardia | Still in Pavia, at the Castello di Sant’Angelo. With Galeotto Bevilacqua, he attends the feudal investiture of Sartirana in favor of Michelino da Corte. | |||
| Oct. | Lombardia | At the end of the month, with Carmagnola in Pavia at the Castello di San Pietro al Muro. Both are recorded as witnesses at the investiture of the Castle of Vinchio in favor of Oddonino Scarampo. | |||
| 1415 | |||||
| Jan. | Lombardia | In Milan, at the Castello di Porta Giovia, when Gabrino Fondulo is invested by Visconti with Castelleone and Cremona, receiving the title of count. | |||
| …………….. | Arcelli | Milano | Lombardia | Rebels against the Duke of Milan out of personal ambition. The pretext lies in Carmagnola refusing to marry his sister Margherita, and in Visconti’s change from initially supporting the marriage to opposing it. | |
| Oct. | Emilia | Seizes Piacenza at the expense of Corrado and Oddone del Carretto. A nocturnal assault by his brother Bartolomeo fails between Porta di Stralevata and Santa Vittoria. At the end of the month, he repeats the attempt and gains the city by treachery. He proclaims himself lord along with Bartolomeo. Looting, slaughter, and destruction follow. He occupies the Castle of Sant’Antonino; deceitfully captures Count Alberto Scotti of Vigoleno and brings him in chains to Sarmato, threatening to have him killed with an axe if the stronghold does not surrender. Margherita Seccamelica, Alberto’s mother, opens the gates; she is allowed to leave with as many possessions as can be transported on one cart. Filippo Arcelli then destroys Sarmato after plundering it. Next, he turns to Motta (the Ziliani castle) and overcomes it; attempts in vain to take Gragnano, also held by the Scotti; moves into Val Nure, where the Nicelli repel him; his operations against the Anguissola yield a similar result. | |||
| 1416 | |||||
| Spring | Piacenza | Milano | Lombardia | He faces Giorgio Valperga and Opicino Alciati. He troubles the Milanese. | |
| July | Emilia | Alongside Pandolfo Malatesta, Giovanni da Vignate, Gabrino Fondulo, and Niccolò d’Este, he signs a two-year truce with the Visconti; he is listed by the Este as an adherent. | |||
| Oct. | Emilia | With help from Pandolfo Malatesta, lord of Brescia, he recovers the citadel of Stralevata in Piacenza. | |||
| 1417 | |||||
| …………….. | Emilia | He is attacked in Piacenza by Carmagnola and Giorgio Valperga (4000 cavalry, 2500 infantry supported by a river flotilla). | |||
| Aug. | Emilia | Piacenza falls to his opponents; Arcelli is besieged in the fortress of Sant’Antonino. Malatesta moves to aid him; Valperga ships most inhabitants off to Lodi and Pavia. Only three people stay in the city for a year, one living by the houses of Santa Brigida, one in San Giovanni nei Canali, and one in San Francesco. Grass grows tall in the communal square. | |||
| Sept. | Emilia | He regains Piacenza and finds a deserted city. | |||
| Nov. | Emilia | He sends his brother Bartolomeo and his son Giovanni to assist the Genoese. | |||
| Dec. | Emilia | His relatives are captured by his foes. Together with the lord of Cremona Gabrino Fondulo, Pietro dei Rossi, and Uguccione Contrari, he besieges the Castle of Zibello. | |||
| 1418 | |||||
| Jan. | Emilia | He takes Zibello at the start of the month. He proceeds to Fiorenzuola d’Arda. | |||
| Apr. | Emilia | He is attacked by Carmagnola, who besieges him in one of Piacenza’s fortresses (possibly Borgo Nuovo). Filippo Arcelli defends vigorously; the Visconti captain threatens to kill his brother Bartolomeo and his son if he does not surrender. In return for giving up Piacenza, he is offered their freedom, a contract for 400 cavalry, and a sum of money. | |||
| May | Emilia | Bartolomeo and Giovanni Arcelli are hanged in front of the Porta di Borgo Nuovo. Arcelli is compelled to yield. He flees the fortress that night through an underground passage; Piacenza passes into enemy hands. | |||
| June | Veneto | He heads to Venice. | |||
| …………….. | Venezia | Impero | Captain General 220 lances | Veneto and Friuli | He is hired for four months of active service and three months of reserve. He remains briefly in Treviso, then moves on to Friuli. |
| Aug. Nov. | Friuli | He occupies Cordignano; conquers the Rocca of Ceneda (Vittorio Veneto) with a brief siege. In September, he obtains Brugnera from Artico di Porcia. In November, he enters Polcenigo. | |||
| Dec. | Veneto | He sets out toward Feltre; after passing the fortress of Castelnuovo (defended by Giacomo dal Bosco), he moves into the Feltre area and captures Ruggero Cane Ranieri. | |||
| 1419 | |||||
| Jan. | Veneto | Forced back to winter quarters in the Treviso area by severe weather. | |||
| Apr. | Friuli | Once back in Friuli, he advances on Udine and plunders its territory. Cividale del Friuli opens its gates to him. | |||
| May | Veneto | He takes the Castle of Serravalle with Ludovico Buzzaccarini. The enemy repels him and retakes the fortress. | |||
| June July | Friuli | Filippo Arcelli leads his troops between Brugnera and Sacile near Porcia, crosses the Tagliamento, and devastates the adjacent countryside. | |||
| Aug. Sept. | Friuli | He conquers Sacile; joining forces with Tristano Savorgnano, he attacks the soldiers of Patriarch Ludovico di Teck. He sets Aviano on fire, obtains Porcia by agreement, and also receives the surrender of Caneva, Cordignano, and Pordenone. He then invests Prata, where the castellan Guglielmo di Prata has encircled the fortress on the riverside with an iron chain to keep Venetian ships away. A special machine cuts the chain, and rainfall raises the water level. In September, Prata surrenders on terms. | |||
| Oct. | Friuli and Veneto | Because of a shortage of provisions, he has Prata’s fortifications destroyed before an army of 9000 cavalry arrives from Hungary under Marsilio da Carrara to support the Patriarch of Aquileia. Filippo Arcelli crosses the Tagliamento again and heads for Belluno and Feltre, sacking Serravalle (Vittorio Veneto). | |||
| …………….. | Friuli | He is besieged in Cividale del Friuli by the Ban of Slavonia Dionigi di Machali (Dionigi Marchal). He repels the enemy; he repeatedly clashes with the Hungarians of the Ban, with the Germans under Count Federico di Ortenburg, and with forces gathered by Marsilio da Carrara and Niccolò di Prata. The war is extremely harsh. The Patriarch’s captain has many raiders quartered; in retaliation, Filippo Arcelli beheads fifty peasants from the Udine district. He moves to Sacile to monitor enemy maneuvers. | |||
| 1420 | |||||
| Mar. | Veneto | He resumes operations against Feltre with 10,000 men. He has a route leveled at the foot of Monte Tomatico (Colle della Signoria), crosses the Sona River below Tonno, and at dawn attacks the Borgo of Sant’Andrea. Feltre avoids being sacked only by paying the Venetians 10,000 ducats in two installments. Filippo Arcelli waives his share; he then captures the fortress guarded by Rodolfo di Betze, and Castello di Zumelle. | |||
| Apr. | Veneto | He targets Belluno. Intense bombardment, similar to that in Feltre, compels the town to surrender on terms. Another 10,000 ducats are assigned to his men. | |||
| May. | Veneto Friuli e V.Giulia | He is reported at Pozzuolo del Friuli with Provveditore Marco Bragadin; he takes Portogruaro, Sesto al Reghena, Codroipo, San Vito al Tagliamento, Monfalcone, Valvasone, and Spilimbergo. He besieges Udine with the Savorgnano; the city has a garrison of 6000 Germans. Also in May, he goes to the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua to fulfill a vow. In his absence, command of the troops is entrusted to the Captain of Treviso Marino Loredan. | |||
| June | Friuli | Udine surrenders on terms in early June; the Venetians are greeted with popular enthusiasm. Arcelli enters with Bragadin and Provveditore Francesco Loredan. Friuli is occupied by the Serenissima; many pro-Imperial nobles are executed. Even the Patriarch of Aquileia suffers harsh treatment; only the following year is he recognized as lord of Aquileia, San Daniele del Friuli, and San Vito al Torre, with an allowance of three thousand ducats. | |||
| 1421 | |||||
| …………….. | V. Giulia | He seizes Muggia. | |||
| July | Slovenia | He dies at the end of the month near Capodistria, struck by a crossbow bolt or due to an apoplectic seizure. Other accounts say he dies by suicide in Treviso; others mention Venice or Padua. His body is carried to Padua by his son-in-law Taddeo d’Este to be buried in the Basilica of Saint Anthony in the Chapel of San Canziano, which he had erected. Some sources claim his burial took place in Udine’s Church of San Francesco or in Giustinopoli (Capodistria). |
Sources
-“Personaggio valoroso sì nell’armi, ma insieme crudele..Sapea eccellentemente il mestier della guerra.” MURATORI
-“Ch’era uno de’ bravi Capitani del suo tempo.” DI MANZANO
-“Homo despreciatore de Dio..morì a Padua desperato, dicendo: Ohimè che el corpo mio lasso a Veniciani, la roba a fioli, e l’anima al diavolo de lo inferno.” CAGNOLA
-“Morì..con fama del maggiore guerriero della sua età.” DE’ CRESCENZI
-“In quel tempo uomo valoroso in arme.” SABELLICO
-“Fu dei membri più illustri della famiglia e una delle figure di maggior rilievo nella storia piacentina..Lasciò fama di uno dei maggiori capitani dell’età sua.” SPRETI
-“Vir sane aliquando egregius, magnaeque fortunae proximus, se se paululum tolerare potuisset.” BILLIA
-“Clarissimus imperator.” CORNAZZANO
-“Grande huomo…egli era nelle guerre valoroso capitano.” CAMPI
-“Virum in armis strenuus.” RIPALTA
-“Capitano de’ più chiari a quei tempi.” LEO
-“Prode ed accorto.” CASALIS
-“Pare fosse un uomo violento e imprevedibile di cui il Senato (veneziano) non si fidò mai del tutto.” MALLETT
-“Di semplice condottiero era giunto a molti onori ed aveva ottenuta anche la contea di Val Tidone e il castello di San Giovanni con oltre una ventina di terre.” ARGEGNI
-“A Venezia vi trovò uno stipendio che gli diede modo di illustrarsi nelle guerre friulane…Fu il condottiero più fortunato in questa guerra…L’Arcelli e Tristano Savorgnano entravano trionfanti nella presa città (Udine). Come spoglia di guerra, i Veneziani portarono via da Udine quel codice che per lungo tempo si reputò l’autografo del Vangelo di san Marco. Il Doge, la Signoria, molti gentiluomini veneziani si recarono a Murano, a ricevere il prezioso volume che fu collocato nella basilica Marciana, celebrando una di quelle festività religiose e politiche, che destavano ancora tanto entusiasmo nei primi anni della Rinascenza.” CIPOLLA
Featured image: beniculturali.it
