The Battle of Cassano

Cassano d'Adda

Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the province of Milan and the province of Bergamo.-History:...

 was fought in the Autumn of 1259 between a Guelph and a Ghibelline army in northern Italy.

In 1259, Ezzelino da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...

 and his Ghibelline army moved into Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

 and besieged Orci Novi

Orzinuovi

Orzinuovi is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy.-History:It was founded in 1193 as a boundary fortress with a statute of the comune of Brescia, with the name of "Orci Novi". Its history thenceforth closely follows that of Brescia, therefore sharing the Venetian...

. But the approach of the Guelph army forced Ezzelino

Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...

 to abandon the siege and cross the Oglio River. Joined by exiled nobles fom Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, the Ghibellines attempted to take the city of Monza

Monza

Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...

 by force, but the attempt failed. Ezzelino

Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...

 and his troops, aware of the dangerous position they were now in, retreated to the Adda river

Adda River

The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...

.

Here, Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...

 and his troops were defeated by the Guelphs under Azzo VII d'Este

Azzo VII d'Este

Azzo VII d'Este was marquess of Ferrara from 1215 to 1222, and again from 1240 until his death....

. Ezzelino

Ezzelino III da Romano

Ezzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...

 was wounded and captured, and imprisoned at Soncino

Soncino

- Places :Italy* Soncino, Lombardy , a comune of the Province of Cremona- People :* Soncino family , an Italian family of Jewish printers...

, where he died of his wounds a few days later.