The project
On August 22, 1268, at the Palentini plans, precisely in the portion of the territory between the countries of Scurcola Marsica and Magliano dei Marsi, a great battle took place which involved 9000 soldiers. History remembers it as a battle of Tagliacozzo, a country today about 10 km away from the place of battle, but then county under whose jurisdiction this territory was included. Important historical event, remembered by the high poet Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy. The Corradino path, adapted for hiking needs, retraces the route made by the Armies of Corradino di Svevia, from Rome, to reach the Palentini plans, the place of the battle. The purpose of the intervention was to recover its first trace, I carried out in 1998 and economically supported by the then Mountain Community "Marsica 1", updating it and making it again accessible the long track, marked by the passage of time and by the natural deterioration that occurred over the years. In addition, the explanatory tables were updated, positioning them in the original boards located along the entire route since 1998 and the graphic project of a descriptive guide of the paths and inhabited centers affected by the route (Magliano dei Marsi, Scurcola, Tagcozzo and S. Marie) has been created.
Guelfi and Ghibellini
The battle of Tagliacozzo of 22 August 1268 can be seen as the last act of the great struggle that saw, for more than a century, the faction of the Guelphs to that of the Ghibellines.
The clash began in 1125, on the occasion of the death of the emperor Henry V. it was at this moment that two factions were created that were contested the throne of Germany: that of the Welfen, Dukes of Bavaria, in favorable positions in Rome, and that of the Hohenstaufen, Dukes of Swabia. The latter, known for the possession of the Waiblingen Castle, wanted to strengthen the direction against the papacy's intrusiveness.
This struggle for power, initially all German, over time was soon moved to Italy, where she went to converge in a local conflict.
In 1137, from the clash between the various German factions, Corrado III Hohenstaufen emerged: from that moment, and until the mid -thirteenth century, there will always be on the throne of Germany, and consequently on the imperial throne, a Swabian one.
Background
The prelude of the battle can be found with the death of Federico II of Swabia, which took place in 1250. The title of king of Germany therefore passed to the legitimate son, Corrado IV. The natural son, Manfredi, was instead entrusted with the lieutenance of Italy and Sicily during the period of the minority of Corradino (son of Corrado IV). In fact, he took possession of power.
Since Pope Innocent III had recognized Corradino as King of Jerusalem and as Duke of Swabia, but not as King of Sicily, in 1254 Manfredi claimed the domain on the Kingdom of Sicily, recognizing Corradino as simple Baiulus, a magistrate in charge of the director of the administration in the peripheral, of Sicily. These moves, in reality, concealed much wider projects, culminating on August 10, 1258: on this occasion, Manfredi, in spite of the prerogatives of his nephew, was crowned king of Sicily.
The pontiff, worried by the quick development of the succession to the throne of the Regnum, opposed this event, in turn assigning the crown to Charles I of Anjou; So on February 22, 1266 the two sides collided in the battle of Benevento, in which Manfredi lost his life.
It is at this point that the Italian Ghibellines, not yet lost hopes, asked for the descent in Italy of the last Svevo survivor. Their requests were soon fulfilled: in 1267, the young Corradino prepared for the reconquest of his kingdom. His advance on the peninsula was triumphant as ephemeral: he found a warm welcome in Verona and Pavia. The Fedel Pisa was made available to money and even the fleet. Finally, in Rome a real triumph was paid - also celebrated thanks to the simultaneous absence of the Pontiff, who chose to retire to the much more defensible Viterbo.
Corradino, however, also evaluated the idea of conquering the city, so that he could make Peter's successor prisoner. In the end, however, he set aside these intentions, especially for the outcomes, counterproductive, produced by such a gesture.
The battle
Carlo D’Angiò, knowing the intentions of the young Svevo, already at the beginning of August ran to strengthen the northern borders of the recently conquered kingdom. After weeks of movements and chasing each other, on the evening of August 22, 1268 the two were facing each other, at the opposite banks of a stream - on the right Corradino, on the left Carlo d’Angiò - at the Palentini plans, between Magliano dei Marsi and Tagliacozzo, in Abruzzo.
The Svevo army counted about 5,000 men and the day of the battle was divided into three formations: the first was made up of German knights, Tuscan Ghibellines and refugees from the Kingdom of Sicily, commanded respectively by Flünglicen's Kroff, Corrado di Antioch and Galvano Lancia. The second group was formed by Roman Spanish and Ghibellines and was led by the Senator of Rome, Enrico di Castiglia. Finally, the third counted Ghibellini Lombardi, and was placed under the command by the Marquis Pelavicino. Corradino was also found in it, surrounded by his bodyguard.
In turn, even the army of Carlo d’Angiò, who did not exceed 4,000 units, was divided into three ranks. The first, made up of Italian Provencal and Guelphs, was commanded by the Marshal of France Henri de Courence; The second was made up of French mercenaries and conducted by Jean de Clary and the siniscalco of Provence Guillame the Estendart; Finally, the third was led by Carlo himself and composed of 1,000 among the most experienced and valiant Knights of the king.
The plan conceived by the French sovereign had been conceived together with the trusted war councilor, Alardo di Valèry. The latter, returning from the Holy Land, had learned in the East some fighting techniques of the Saracens who wanted to re -propose on this battlefield. The strategy, designed to make up for the numerical disadvantage, provided for a strategy as simple as it is lethal: two ranks would go to the enemy while the third, reserve mail and hidden in the hills, would have attacked by surprise and behind the enemy. The first two angent ranks also had to move to the attack to attract the enemy on the hilly ground, on this side of the stream, so as to surround them and prevent their escape.
The Imperials, therefore, faced two ranks slightly unmade with the Carlo center, which flaunted the real signs. Obviously, it was a skilled stratagem: Henri De Courence was in his place, while the Angevin sovereign was headed by the reserve, hidden from the enemy's gaze.
The imperials, who fell into the trap, vigorously crossed the watercourse, immediately placing themselves in the attacking position: the charge was so furious, that the Swabian army quickly broke the enemies. The signs with the lilies of France also fell, so that Corradino's army believed he had killed the king.
In the grip of joy what seemed, in everyone's eyes, a clear victory, the Swabian troops broke the deployment, scattering the field in search of booty.
It was at this point that Carlo D’Angiò made his appearance, attacking the Swabians who, caught by surprise, after a harsh and short combat, were mistaken.
Corradino flew to Rome. Enrico di Castiglia, left from the battlefield already during his early stages, returned to the place of the clash after stopping chasing the enemies on the run. Here, noticed the situation, the nobleman did not lose heart but, on the contrary, he reordered his ranks, in an attempt to turn the fate of the battle upside down.
However, even in this case the Swabian weapons fell into a trap hatched by the Angevin counterpart. The knights of Carlo, in fact, simulated an escape, thus attracting Enrico di Castiglia's troops. The latter, once the deployment broke, were easy prey to the Angevin troops: the Swabian army could be defined as defeated.
Consequences
As mentioned, Corradino broke towards Rome. He realized that Urbe was not so sure, he folded up on Torre Astura, coastal town of the Roman coast placed near Nettuno, with the intention perhaps to take the sea towards the domains of Pisa. Here, however, he was betrayed by Giovanni Frangipane, lord of the place, who intercepted him into the sea and forced him to go back. He was locked up in the castle and finally, behind the promise of money and lands, he was delivered to Carlo d’Angiò.
The trial and the death sentence followed, which was performed on 29 October 1268 in Naples: Corradino was beheaded in Campo Moricino, corresponding to today's Piazza del Mercato della Città Neapolita. The last of the Hohenstaufen died at the age of only 16. With him he also set the Swabian project to see the united peninsula under the imperial authority, independent of the power of the Church.
But above all, despite some moments of hope and deceptive rebirth in the following years, the battle of Tagliacozzo represented a fatal blow for the Ghibelline party and for those who believed in the imperial dream. The results of this battle redesigned the geopolitical picture of the Europe of the time and according to several scholars, they constituted the foundations of what much later became the "southern question" in Italy.
Recommended readings:
The path
The Corradino path, whose first trace, economically supported by the then Marsica 1 Mountain Community, created in 1998, represents an adaptation dictated by hiking needs, of the path taken by the Corradinian armies in their approaching, coming from Rome, to the place of the battle. These are the schematic data of the route:
Purpose analysis intervention:
The Corradino path marks the opening to a different tourism already in its first trace of 1998 where, thanks to it, innovative roads are traveled in which environmental sustainability, territorial promotion and support for tourist micro -enterprises find their natural sustenance. The path has the claim to accompany the hiker on a journey between nature, culture and the great story that characterize the westernmost part of Abruzzo: Marsica. The territorial promotion, especially of minor centers (hamlets), travels through slow mobility and all those activities related to eco -sustainable development. The audience of the potential recipients of this type of promotion is vast, which they will be able to find in an increasingly structured series of tourism support services (from small receptivity, catering, to reception-accompanying-mopporting services) its point of reference. The value of the slow time, of inner regeneration and the discovery of one's being walking in places rich in charm, history, of traditions represent the means by which to fall into the social fabric of this part of the innermost abruzzo, in which traditions, art and gastronomic culture rich in specificity typical of this territory remain alive.
Possible developments:
The main axis of the path affects a portion of the mountain and internal territory that acts as a hinge between Labruzzo and Lazio. A territory of border, passing through, between what in the 19th century was a frontier between the Papal States and the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The path, in its part called "High valleys of the rivers Imele and Liri" reaches, in its westernmost extension, the Sanctuary of the S.S. Trinity (Vallepietra, Lazio/Rome). It ideally follows the route of the Corradino Fanging King of Swabia to the Tyrrhenian Sea, from where he embarked with his faithful to look for refuge at the Ghibellines Amici di Pisa. The Asd Skimuniti of Tagliacozzo has a project ready to connect, always following the traces of the great history, this internal part of Abruzzo with Anzio and precisely with the Castle of Torre Astura, then the seat of the Frangipane family whose events related to the capture and following delivery of the Swabian King, are treated in the introduction. Ideally and to better support the potential of this path, its expansion also would be desirable towards the east, in the direction of L'Aquila first and the Adriatic Sea then, to give the visitors of these paths the opportunity to live a unique experience, immersed in a rich and well preserved environment, through fascinating countries rich in history, traditions, welcome and good food.
Conclusions:
The Corradino path in this project sees its tracking recovered and updated, media highlighting and promotion through:
As mentioned, these paths, whose oigines is from 1998, were followed by other itineraries, also centered on historical events of the past. I would like to point out that these itineraries travel many traits in common with each other and this is not rational as well as not only organic. The ASD proposes itself as a subject capable of reaching a unique path card of the western Marsica in which, interacting with the extensors of the other itineraries, to bring together, following suitable revision, all the paths and the hiking and cyclescent itineraries network of the area.
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