| First siege of Pontevico | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Wars in Lombardy | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Duchy of Milan |  Republic of Venice | ||||||
The first siege of Pontevico was fought between 6 and 8 June 1452 at Pontevico (Lombardy) between the armies of the Duchy of Milan and that of Republic of Venice, an episode of the Wars in Lombardy.
During the Wars in Lombardy, Brescia and its province get conquered by the Republic of Venice. In 1448, Venice and Milan stipulated a truce: then, Francesco Sforza, a milanese commander, besieged Milan and took the power on February 26, 1452. Due to his past service for the Republic of Venice, he knew the strategic importance of Pontevico, located long the Oglio river and he decided to besiege his castle. [1]
Francesco Sforza could count on a big part of his army. [2]
The venetian forces in Pontevico were exiguous. However, the people of Ponteviche, trusting in their own valor, wanted to attempt resistance in any way. [2]
After having built a bridge over the river and set up a camp on both Oglio shores, on June 6 the Milanese began the siege of the fortress; the bombardments were aimed against the bastions of the castle while Sforza ordered the guerrillas not to give the castle lords any respite. In fact, the duke feared that reinforcements would arrive from Venice in the future. This was, on the contrary, the hope of the castellans, which vanished after two days of repeated attacks, when the Pontevichesi signed the surrender with the Milanese. [2]
During the siege of Pontevico, the venetian army passed the Oglio river near Soncino and conquered the County of Cremona. After a winter rest, in March 1453 the war started again. On May 29th, Jacopo Piccinino brought back Pontevico under Serenissima. In October, Francesco Sforza joined with René of Anjou and his army, besieged the castle again, which fell on the third day and was destroyed with the whole village.
In the end, with the Peace of Lodi Pontevico returned under Republic of Venice which rebuilt the town and his fortress. [3]
Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L'Aquila and in the 1430s fought for the Papal States and Milan against Venice. Once the war between Milan and Venice ended in 1441 under mediation by Sforza, he successfully invaded southern Italy alongside René of Anjou, pretender to the throne of Naples, and after that returned to Milan. He was instrumental in the Treaty of Lodi (1454) which ensured peace in the Italian realms for a time by ensuring a strategic balance of power. He died in 1466 and was succeeded as duke by his son, Galeazzo Maria Sforza. While Sforza was recognized as duke of Milan, his son Ludovico would be the first to have formal investiture under the Holy Roman Empire by Maximilian I in 1494.
Vigevano is a town and comune in the province of Pavia, Lombardy, Northern Italy. A historic art town, it is also renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural district. Vigevano received the honorary title of city with a decree of Duke Francis II Sforza on 2 February 1532. It is famed for its Renaissance Piazza Ducale in the centre of the town.
The Duchy of Milan was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277.
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The Treaty of Lodi, or Peace of Lodi, was a peace agreement to put an end to the Wars in Lombardy between the Venetian Republic and the Duchy of Milan, signed in the city of Lodi on 9 April 1454.
Pontevico is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is situated on the left bank of the river Oglio. As of 2021 Pontevico had a population of 7,038.
The Golden Ambrosian Republic was a short-lived republic founded in Milan by members of the University of Pavia with popular support, during the first phase of the Milanese War of Succession. With the aid of Francesco Sforza they held out against the forces of the Republic of Venice, but after a betrayal Sforza defected and captured Milan to become Duke himself, abolishing the Republic.
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Bartolomeo Colleoni was an Italian condottiero, who became captain-general of the Republic of Venice. Colleoni "gained reputation as the foremost tactician and disciplinarian of the 15th century". He is also credited with having refurbished the Roman baths at Trescore Balneario.
The Wars in Lombardy were a series of conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Duchy of Milan and their respective allies, fought in four campaigns in a struggle for hegemony in Northern Italy that ravaged the economy of Lombardy. They lasted from 1423 until the signing of the Treaty of Lodi in 1454. During their course, the political structure of Italy was transformed: out of a competitive congeries of communes and city-states emerged the five major Italian territorial powers that would make up the map of Italy for the remainder of the 15th century and the beginning of the Italian Wars at the turn of the 16th century. They were Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States and Naples. Important cultural centers of Tuscany and Northern Italy—Siena, Pisa, Urbino, Mantua, Ferrara—became politically marginalized.
The Battle of Caravaggio was fought near Caravaggio, in Lombardy, between the armies of the Ambrosian Republic and the Republic of Venice, on 15 September 1448.
The Battle of Soncino was a battle of the Wars in Lombardy, fought in March 1431. It was fought between the armies of the Republic of Venice, under Count of Carmagnola, and of the Duchy of Milan, under Francesco I Sforza.
Biagio Assereto was an Italian admiral at the service of the Republic of Genoa.
Taddeo d'Este was a condottiere, a freelance military leader, who was known for his defense of the Republic of Venice in 1439 against Milanese forces under Niccolò Piccinino. Unlike many other condottieri of the day, who often changed sides, he served Venice almost exclusively throughout his thirty-year military career. During most of this period Venice was constantly at war with one or more of the neighboring states in northern Italy.
The Milanese War of Succession was a war of succession over the Duchy of Milan from the death of duke Filippo Maria Visconti on 13 August 1447 to the Treaty of Lodi on 9 April 1454.
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The siege of Novara was a battle that took place in the summer and autumn of 1495 during the Italian War of 1494–1495. While king Charles VIII of France was retreating to the north after facing rebellions in the recently conquered Kingdom of Naples, and managed to escape the destruction of his army at the Battle of Fornovo, his cousin and future king Louis d'Orleans opened a second front by attacking the Duchy of Milan and occupying the city of Novara. In an effort to retrieve it, the Milanese army and their League of Venice allies besieged Novara for three months and fourteen days. Suffering from severe starvation and disease, the French lost about 2000 soldiers before Louis had to surrender and withdraw.
The second siege of Pontevico was fought between 25 and 29 may 1453 at Pontevico (Lombardy) between the armies of the Duchy of Milan and that of Republic of Venice, an episode of the Wars in Lombardy.
The third siege of Pontevico was fought between 16 and 19 October 1453 at Pontevico (Lombardy) between the armies of the Duchy of Milan and that of Republic of Venice, an episode of the Wars in Lombardy.