Читать книгу Under The Green Claws - Ivo Ragazzini - Страница 3

In 1282, after a long series of hostilities between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, an army, organized by Pope Martin IV, composed of eighteen thousand French and Italian Guelph soldiers, was sent to Romagna to defeat once and for all the last of the Ghibellines who had gathered in Forlì to defend the land, which they considered to be their imperial dominion.

The last of the Italian Ghibellines, who were still faithful to the dictates of Emperor Frederick II, who had been dead for thirty years, converged from all sides to help the people of Forli, who still proudly carried the black imperial eagles on a field of gold, which Frederick II himself had personally given them.

The subject of this book is how things turned out and why this situation evolved.

This book is also about what Romagna represented in ancient times. Romagna is a land rich with traditions and history that have been handed down over the centuries.

It is not that difficult to find out how this land was created and what Romagna was at the time of the Rome Empire, and in fact you will see that this story will investigate a few of these themes.

Sooner or later I'll write a detailed historical account of Romagna, but the real purpose of this book is, and remains, the siege and battle, which involved the last of the Italian Ghibellines and took place in Forlì towards the end of the thirteenth century.

So, as this story will inevitably recount, for the first time ever, much of the information about the true origins of Forlì, the monuments and imperial traditions it inherited and why it became the last stronghold of the Ghibellines.

The book will explain who the Ordelaffi really were, and about the many other forgotten historical figures, such as the astrologer Guido Bonatti and the fighting friar Geremia Gotto, who were then also present among the ranks of the Ghibelline.

Of course it will also tell you the details of how the Ghibellines, commanded by Guido da Montefeltro, an unrivalled Italian captain at the time, defeated and massacred, in one day and one night, a French army of eighteen thousand French and Italian Guelphs who had put siege to them to force their submission to the church.

This historical account is thus dedicated to the honor and pride of the last of the Italian Ghibellines who, refusing to surrender to force of arms, and against all the odds, attacked and defeated the thousands of soldiers who had besieged them for a year. I conclude by telling you that this book will inevitably lead you to discover many other things that history has forgotten, and I gladly offer them for your perusal.

Enjoy this rediscovery.

I.R.