Siege of Faenza 1240
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1240 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Italy | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Guelphs and Ghibellines | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Holy Roman Empire, Lombard League | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 44.2900, 11.2603 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Faenza was fought from late August 1240 until 14 April 1241 between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the Guelph-controlled city of Faenza during the wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. One of the longest operations of Frederick's Italian campaigns, the siege ended in an Imperial victory after nearly eight months of blockade, bombardment and economic attrition.
Faenza occupied an important position in Romagna on the communications linking northern Italy with the central peninsula and the approaches to the Papal States. It was closely allied with Bologna, one of the principal centres of papal resistance in the region, and Frederick regarded possession of Faenza as necessary to secure his rear before attempting a further advance against Bologna. The siege consequently formed part of the wider struggle between Frederick and Pope Gregory IX for control of imperial Italy after the emperor's second excommunication in 1239.
The operation also demonstrated Frederick's ability to modify his methods after previous experience. An initial assault failed against a reinforced and determined defence.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Faenza (revision 1373032042), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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Other battles of the Guelphs and Ghibellines
- Siege of Alessandria (1175) 1174
- Battle of Legnano 1176
- Battle of Calcinato (1201) 1201
- Battle of Cortenuova 1237
- Siege of Brescia (1238) 1238
- Battle of Giglio 1241
- Siege of Viterbo 1243
- Battle of Cassano (1259) 1259
- Battle of Montaperti 1260
- Battle of Colle Val d'Elsa 1269
All 22 battles of the Guelphs and Ghibellines →
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