Murder and Power: The Ruthless Ambitions of Giberto da Fogliano
Lord of Reggio Emilia, Carpineti, Dinazzano, Ventoso, San Valentino, Arceto, Sabbione, Scandiano, Casalgrande, Bagno, Rondinara, Viano, Villa Minozzo, Montorsaro, Giandeto, Quercioli, Paullo, and Levizzano Rangone. Brother of Giovanni da Fogliano, Guglielmo da Fogliano, and Guidoriccio da Fogliano; father of Francesco da Fogliano and Guido Savina da Fogliano. He was also the father of a daughter who became a nun—left to die in poverty by her brothers—and another daughter, whom he himself killed.
Death: 1370
| Year, Month | State, Comp. ventura | Opponent | Command | Area of Activity | Actions Undertaken and Other Salient Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1317 | da Fogliano | Reggio Emilia | Emilia | Upon the death of Giberto da Correggio, fights against the municipality of Reggio Emilia. | |
| 1320 | Emilia | He is invested with Carpineti by the King of the Romans Frederick of Austria. In the same year, he is expelled from Reggio Emilia by the populace because he is suspected of having allied with the Ghibellines. | |||
| 1322 | |||||
| Apr. | Fogliano | Reggio Emilia | Emilia | With his brother Giovanni, expels Simone and Manfredino da Fogliano from Paullo; soon after, besieged in Baiso where he has built a castle, he is helped by Passerino Bonacolsi, lord of Mantua. | |
| …….. | Emilia | He is assigned by the municipality of Reggio Emilia the office of podestà of the counties of Toano and Villa Minozzo together with Bartolomeo di Dallo. While on his way to assume that office, he claims to have been captured by enemies of Reggio Emilia: even though he did not serve, he demands the agreed salary. | |||
| 1324 | |||||
| Aug. | Emilia | He heads to Levizzano; along the way, he is captured by the sons of Simone da Fogliano. He is locked in the fortress of Baiso for twenty-five months. He is released following direct intervention by the Reggio authorities with the cardinal legate Bertrando del Poggetto. | |||
| 1327 | |||||
| Apr.-June | Empire | Church | Emilia | With the descent into Italy of Emperor Louis IV (Ludovico il Bavaro), he openly joins the Ghibelline faction. He unites with Marsilio dei Rossi and Niccolò Manfredi. In June, he asks to meet the pontifical rector Angelo di San Lupidio on the pretext of requesting clemency for a member of his faction, condemned to hanging for theft. Giberto da Fogliano arranges the assassination: his brother Giovanni Riccio da Fogliano, accompanied by Guiduccio and Giovanni Manfredi, ask to speak urgently with the rector. The latter receives them, barefoot, before the altar of his chapel while praying to the Madonna; there, he is stabbed. The official reason given for the crime is the heavy taxes imposed on Reggio Emilia by the Church. Giberto da Fogliano and his accomplices flee to their castles. | |
| 1329 | |||||
| Nov. | Emilia | Reinforced by imperial troops and those of Marsilio dei Rossi, he launches an attack against the lands of the da Correggio: Castelbosco and Meletole. | |||
| 1330 | |||||
| Apr. | Empire | Church, Naples | Emilia | The pontifical legate Bertrando del Poggetto sends 600 horse and 4000 infantry against him under Beltramone and Raimondo del Balzo, as well as the natural brother of King Robert of Naples (Roberto d’Angiò), Galeazzo. The Angevins and papal troops encamp at Rubiera at the end of the month. From there, they devastate the surrounding territory. His decisive action forces the opponents to withdraw toward Formigine. They choose to camp in a meadow, without noticing that it is surrounded by ditches and swamp, hindering all movement of heavy cavalry, which is pressed on its flanks by the lances of Giberto da Fogliano’s infantry, joined by the forces of Guido and Manfredo Pio. The enemies’ mounts are easily felled, and the knights, once on the ground, cannot stand under the weight of their armor. Beltramone, Raimondo del Balzo, and Galeazzo d’Angiò are captured. | |
| Nov. | Emilia | At the end of the month, the emperor enters Reggio Emilia. Giberto da Fogliano is confirmed, together with Azzo Manfredi, as imperial vicar of the city. Reggio Emilia is struck by a papal interdict. | |||
| 1331 | |||||
| Jan.-Apr. | Lombardy and Emilia | In January, he goes to Bergamo to be appointed by King John of Bohemia (Giovanni di Boemia) imperial vicar of Reggio Emilia with Azzo Manfredi and his brother Giovanni da Fogliano; he is also granted some mills and other assets worth 300 florins monthly. In mid-April, John of Bohemia (Giovanni di Boemia), in Reggio Emilia, agrees to expel his vicars from the city, as demanded by the agitated populace. After a while, Giberto da Fogliano is reinstated in the office with Manfredi. Returning to Reggio Emilia, he imposes a levy of 10,000 florins on the citizens; Carlo of Bohemia prevents its collection. When the emperor departs, da Fogliano renews his attempt and collects the tax. | |||
| Aug. | Under the Treaty of Castelbaldo, the Visconti, the Gonzaga, the della Scala, and the Este decide that Reggio Emilia should pass into Gonzaga hands. | ||||
| 1332 | |||||
| June | Empire | Ferrara, Verona, Mantua, Milan | Emilia | He leaves Parma with Pietro dei Rossi and Manfredo Pio and enters Modena to quell an uprising staged by Giovanni da Modena and Niccolò da Fredo. | |
| Sept. | Emilia | In Modena with Manfredo Pio. | |||
| Dec. | Emilia | Distinguishes himself in the battle of San Felice sul Panaro against the Este and their allies: after the fight, with other leaders, he is knighted by Charles of Bohemia (Carlo di Boemia). | |||
| 1333 | |||||
| Oct. | Emilia | In Bologna with Rolando dei Rossi, Manfredo Pio, and Ponzino Ponzoni for a final meeting with John of Bohemia (Giovanni di Boemia), about to leave Italy. He gives the king 35,000 florins; immediately afterward, Giberto da Fogliano is acknowledged as lord of Reggio Emilia. At the end of the month, he enters the city at dawn with many men from Modena and Vannuccio di Dallo. His opponents are killed. Azzo Manfredi is captured; brought beneath the walls of Borzano to persuade Giovanni and Rosso Manfredi to surrender, he fails, so Azzo Manfredi with three sons and two nephews is imprisoned in a tower of the Quercioli castle. Giberto da Fogliano begins besieging Borzano by building a battifolle; he also convenes Reggio Emilia’s general council, which grants him lordship over the city. | |||
| 1334 | |||||
| Feb. | Reggio Emilia | Ferrara, Verona | Emilia | He ambushes at Massenzatico Ettore di Panigo, Gottifredo da Sesso, and Giovanni da Correggio, who were heading from Correggio toward Verona. Their 600 cavalry are caught asleep and unarmed, losing baggage, arms, and mounts; he demands a ransom of 10,000 florins, receiving 6,000 from Alberto della Scala. | |
| June | Reggio Emilia | Verona, Mantova | Emilia | Forces of the anti-imperial league move against all vicars of John of Bohemia (Giovanni di Boemia). Alberto della Scala and the Gonzaga besiege him in the city; he surrenders and signs an agreement placing himself at the service of Mastino della Scala. | |
| July | Emilia | He hands Reggio Emilia over to the della Scala; in mid-month, Guido Gonzaga enters the city and takes possession on behalf of Verona’s ruler. Mastino della Scala grants him for three years the family domains of Arceto, Sabbione, Scandiano, Casalgrande, Bagno, Rondinara, Gesso dal Trasinaro, Viano, Ventoso, Levizzano, Querciola, Paullo, Giandeto, Minozzi, Mangilio, Lorano, San Valentino, and in perpetuity the jurisdiction of Dinazzano and Carpineti. He returns to Reggio Emilia with his relatives, preceded by Guido Gonzaga. He once again becomes lord of the city with his brother Guidoriccio. | |||
| 1335 | |||||
| June | Reggio Emilia | Mantova, Verona | Emilia | He is assaulted by Luigi Gonzaga and the della Scala. | |
| Sept. | Emilia and Veneto | He relinquishes Reggio Emilia to Mastino della Scala. After eight days, the latter hands the city to Filippino and Feltrino Gonzaga. da Fogliano takes refuge in Verona; he is provided 400 florins monthly and, for three years, control over 36 communities in the Reggio area plus 5 castles (Arceto, Sabbione, Scandiano, Gesso del Trasinaro, Torre di Ventoso, Casalgrande, Bagno, Rondinara, Viano, Piagna, Querciola, Paullo, Giandeto, Minozzo, Mangilio, Levizzano Rangone, San Cassiano, Lorano, Dinazzano, and Carpineti). | |||
| 1336 | |||||
| Feb. | Veneto | In Verona at the della Scala court. He is appointed Captain of the People of Treviso, undertaking to repair the fortresses of Camino, Oderzo, and Ponte di Piave. | |||
| Sept. | Verona | Venezia | Veneto | He moves to protect the da Camino. | |
| Oct. | Veneto | He repels an attack on Treviso by Pietro dei Rossi. | |||
| Nov. | Veneto | He is informed by Gerardo Rovero of a plot in Rai, near Oderzo; he prevents the fortress from falling to the Venetians and the da Collalto. | |||
| 1337 | |||||
| Jan. | Veneto | With Palmerio da Sesso, he repels another attack on Treviso by Pietro dei Rossi. | |||
| Apr. | Veneto | He enters Castelfranco Veneto with Palmerio da Sesso and 400 German horse. He does not counter the enemy raids in that area. | |||
| 1338 | |||||
| Sept. | Veneto | He falls into an ambush at Longara, where he is taken by Paduan forces together with 12 da Correggio and several relatives (Guidoriccio, Simone, Bertolino, Amedeo). Handed over to Ubertino da Carrara, he is led to Padua and locked in a wooden cage, the “Fogliana,” placed in a chamber of the palace; this punitive measure occurs because, when earlier captured and released, he had not honored his pledge to lay down arms in the ongoing conflict. | |||
| 1339 | |||||
| Jan. | Veneto | After the peace agreement, he is set free with his brother Guidoriccio and Alberto della Scala. | |||
| July | Emilia | Guido, Feltrino, and Filippino Gonzaga, rulers of Mantua and Reggio Emilia, reconfirm to him and his family the privileges granted by Mastino della Scala. | |||
| Nov. | Veneto | Together with his brother Guidoriccio, he is enrolled among the Venetian nobility by Doge Bartolomeo Gradenigo. | |||
| 1340 | |||||
| Feb. | Lombardy | In Mantua for the marriage of Ugolino Gonzaga to Verde della Scala. | |||
| 1341 | |||||
| May | Verona | Correggio | Emilia | He is tasked with guarding Parma. Along with Bonetto da Malvicina and Pietro dal Verme, he arrives too late to defend it from an attack by Azzo da Correggio. | |
| July-Aug. | Verona | Pisa | Captain General | Tuscany | He is dispatched to defend Lucca with Antonio Malaspina (nephew of Spinetta) and Andrea Salamoncelli. Leaving the Val di Neve with 300 barbute (600 horse) and numerous foot soldiers, he slips through the Florentine siege lines and enters the besieged city. He is made Captain of the People. The locals entrust him with a wrought-iron cannon, one of the earliest in artillery history, firing iron projectiles. |
| Oct. | Florence | Pisa | Tuscany | He commands the first column with Maffeo da Pontecarali, Frignano da Sesso, and Benedetto Tedesco in the battle of Lucca against the Pisans, led by Nolfo da Montefeltro, Giovanni Visconti da Oleggio, and Ciupo Scolari. Defeated, he withdraws into the city. Some 1,500 men remain on the field. | |
| Dec. | Tuscany | A Lucchese noble, Niccolò Diversi, alerts him that a Veronese officer (Giovanni Amati) in the besieged city had contacted him about plotting an uprising for the Florentines. The officer is arrested and sentenced to amputation of hands and feet and the loss of one eye. | |||
| 1342 | |||||
| July | Tuscany | He captures Tarlatino Tarlati and places him under the guard of Giovanni dei Medici. Cornered in Lucca’s fortress of Agosta/Augusta, Giberto da Fogliano must surrender due to a lack of supplies. He negotiates for 15,000 florins to be given to the garrison troops, fearing they might revolt and plunder the town. The terms are signed in the chapel of the Palazzo degli Anziani, ensuring the safety of persons and property. The Pisans immediately feed the populace. The victors officially enter Lucca in a grand triumph. The first banner displayed is the Visconti biscione, then that of Pisa, followed by allied ensigns—imperial, the flag of Pisa, those of the Visconti of Milan, Genoa, Padua, Parma, Modena, Mantua, Forlì, and Lucca itself as a symbol of concord. da Fogliano, leaving with the Medici, reaches Pescia under Nolfo da Montefeltro’s escort. The Lucca campaign has cost Pisa over one and a half million florins. | |||
| Sept. | Emilia | He meets repeatedly in Ferrara with Spinetta Malaspina and the ruler of Bologna Giovanni Pepoli to propose a defensive accord to Obizzo d’Este against the Great Company of Werner of Urslingen (Guarnieri di Urslingen). He is granted command of the troops. | |||
| Oct. | Bologna | Mercenary Company | Captain General | Emilia and Romagna | He leaves Bologna with war machines, heading to Castel San Pietro Terme and Faenza, fortifying along the Lamone with Bolognese forces. They guard a seven-mile front from which repeated raids target Forlì. Later, joined by troops of the della Scala and Este under Ugolino Lupo and by 600–700 horse dispatched by Walter VI of Brienne (Guarltieri di Brienne), lord of Florence, he marches successfully into the territories of Forlì and Cesena held by Francesco Ordelaffi, who shelters the Great Company. He ravages the district. |
| Dec. | Emilia and Veneto | He returns to Ferrara, where Obizzo d’Este grants him a respectful welcome; he then proceeds to Legnago to confer with Mastino della Scala, informing him of his recent talks with the lord of Bologna. | |||
| 1343 | |||||
| Jan. | Romagna | Still in Faenza. An accord is reached between the allies and Werner of Urslingen (Guarntieri di Urslingen). | |||
| May | Veneto | He goes to Montagnana with his brother Guidoriccio and Bonetto da Malvicina to negotiate peace on behalf of Mastino della Scala with Ubertino da Carrara, lord of Padua. Following the agreement, he returns to Cologna Veneta to meet the lord of Verona. There, Rolando dei Rossi, Giacomo da Carrara, and Giacomino da Peraga—representing the Carrarese—join him. | |||
| 1344 | |||||
| Sept.-Oct. | Ferrara | Mantova | Emilia | Serving Obizzo d’Este. He departs Reggio Emilia with 300 cavalry, including six Florentine cavalry banners, to enter Parma, sold by Azzo da Correggio to the Este for 60,000–70,000 florins. He recruits many mercenaries released by Mastino della Scala. In October, with his brother Niccolò, he thrusts into Gonzaga territory, reaching Reggio Emilia’s gates. He seizes Castelnovo ne’ Monti. | |
| Nov. | Emilia and Lombardy | The Marquis of Ferrara moves 1,000 horse to Modena for a ceremony on the new lordship. Giberto da Fogliano accompanies him to Parma, ravaging Gonzaga areas along the way, including Montecchio Emilia, Reggiolo, Suzzara, San Benedetto Po, and Sermide. | |||
| Dec. | Emilia and Lombardy | Departing Parma for Reggio Emilia under a supposed safe-conduct between the Este and the Gonzaga, Giberto da Fogliano leads an advance of 300 horse and is ambushed at Rivalta by Filippino Gonzaga and Ettore di Panigo. Obizzo d’Este, with the main body a mile behind, withdraws first to Montecchio Emilia, then to Parma. da Fogliano is seized with two sons and 722 others, among them 23 cavalry constables. Brought to Mantua, he is caged in the castle, forced to watch his son Ludovico die from his wounds. He stares at his son’s body for two days. Professional soldiers are paroled; noblemen must remain in Mantua, paying hefty ransoms for release. | |||
| 1345 | |||||
| ………. | Lombardy | He is freed after a time when Obizzo d’Este pays his ransom. The Gonzaga turn over to him the property of the monastery of San Prospero; he demolishes a palace and erects the fortress of Budrione. | |||
| June | Ferrara | Mantova | Emilia | He takes up arms again against the Gonzaga. He joins the Este at Canossa and makes two attempts to enter Reggio Emilia—first via a tunnel, then by direct assault on the walls. He is wounded in the attack at Porta Bernone. On that same occasion, his son Bernardino drowns with 21 Este soldiers when the drawbridge collapses under their weight. | |
| 1349 | |||||
| Jan. | Fogliano | Milano | Emilia | With 400 paid troops, he covertly occupies the castle of Gazzata, belonging to the da Sesso; shortly thereafter, the fortress of Azzone likewise falls to him. | |
| 1350 | Emilia | The papal interdict over Reggio Emilia is lifted. | |||
| 1354 | |||||
| Aug. | Milano | Mantova | Emilia | He allies with the Visconti. Ugolino da Fogliano seizes Torricella on his own account; da Fogliano soon recovers, and at the end of the month, he recaptures both Torricella and Cavazzoli. | |
| 1355 | |||||
| Feb. | Emilia | With his son Francesco and many exiles from Reggio Emilia (Selvatico Boiardi, Giovanni da Correggio, Giovanni da Canossa, Galeazzo Pio, Giberto di San Vitale, Niccolò Roberti, and Niccolò Pallavicini)—1,000 horse and 2,000 foot—he assaults the Benedictine monastery of San Prospero during Vespers. The monks retreat to the tower and fiercely resist. The attackers climb onto the church roof and storm the tower. Several friars are slain, and the prior Guglielmo Desazze is taken prisoner. Feltrino Gonzaga arrives in support. The exiles are themselves besieged for ten days by 1,500 cavalry and 3,000 infantry. Defeated, around 1,000 men are captured, including Niccolò Roberti and his son Francesco. The monastery is demolished by the Gonzaga despite its reputation as one of the grandest in Christendom. | |||
| 1356 | Milano | Mantova | Emilia | Again supporting the Visconti in the siege of Reggio Emilia. | |
| 1369 | Emilia | He takes refuge in the fortress of Reggio Emilia when Feltrino Gonzaga returns to the city as vicar of Emperor Charles of Bohemia (Carlo di Boemia). | |||
| 1370 | He dies. |
Sources
-“Valoroso e accorto Capitano del tempo suo.” SANSOVINO
-“Hic vero fuit potentior et nobilior in orbe omnibus suo tempore, quem scelera hactenus commissa ad hunc finem conduxerunt la morte violenta di quattro figli su sei e l’uccisione, da parte sua, di una delle tre figlie.” GAZATA
-“Guerriero infaticabile.” VENTURI
-“Fu Capitano valoroso.” AZZARI
-“Virtute belli clarus egregiam operam in plurimis praeliis ostenderat.” PANCIROLI
-Con Manfredo Pio “S’havevano acquistato lode di valenti guerrieri.” CARRARI
-“Era ottimo soldato, audacissimo, ambizioso.” ARGEGNI
-“Il dominatus dei Fogliano era.. uno dei più estesi della regione, ricco di castelli, ville e strutture produttive, in grado di coniugare i prodotti agricoli della pianura con quelli delle montagne (ottenendo legname e sfruttandone i pascoli, ad esempio), insieme al controllo sulle vie tanto di terra quanto d’acqua, attraverso l’imposizione di dazi.. (E’) tra i responsabili della “svolta ghibellina” vissuta dalla famiglia, che almeno fino al primo quarto del Trecento si era sempre dimostrata compattamente guelfa.” BOZZI
Featured image: wikipedia, wikimedia
