Battle of Casaloldo – Wikipedia

The Battle of Casalardu It was a military episode that took place on May 10, 1509 in Casaloldo, Mantuan, between the Venetian garrisons of that village and Asola and part of the Mantuan army led by Alessio Beccaguto. ^[2]

In the 16th century the expansionist aims of the Gonzaga led to several clashes for the conquest of the border villages of their marquisate, also in accordance with the agreements of the Cambrai League of December 1508, to which Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, had joined, to fight The Venetian expansion at the expense of his domain.

On May 1, 1509, while the bulk of the Venetian army was camped in Pontevico, Francesco II Gonzaga was with his troops in Canneto sull’Oglio, in the Mantuan but on the border with the Cremonese, who was governed by the Republic of Venice. That day about 200 French spears, followed by twenty-four floats of Biada, wine and poultry, crossed the Po to Casalmaggiore using a 30-40 boats bridge that had been made previously. After the river, they brought to Canneto by the Marquis who distributed them to the surrounding villages. After the arrival of French reinforcements, Francesco II had about 5,000 Gasconi infantrymen, 200 heavy knights, 200 cavalryburs, 400 French riding cross -horses, all well -armed. However, such an army was difficult to maintain in a territory all in all content such as that of the Marquisate of Mantua, so much so that Francesco was in constant shortage of biada for the horses and had been forced to threaten the gallows for all those who had dared to cut the ‘grass in the fields. As if that were not enough, after paying the knights, he had found himself in a position to not be able to do the same with the infantrymen. The Venetians, warned of the Mantuan movements, began to fear hostile actions in the rear that were not very defended since most of their soldiers were marching towards the Gera d’Adda to carry out an offensive against the French in the Milanese or Lodigiano. ^[3]

On May 3 a place of Louis XII, king of France, reached the Marquis with the order to proceed with the army in Casalmaggiore and then cross the Po, the Emilian countryside and reunite with the rest of the French in Maccastorna, in the Lodigiano, at the mouth of the Adda. The Venetians prepared thanks to their spies that the Emilian cities until a few days earlier had been unwanted so much that they would have been an easy prey if they had been attached to them in time and that if he had threatened to invade the marquisate, Francis II would probably have passed on their side and therefore it would be prevented that his men joined the great French army. At that point, however, an offensive on Canneto would also have been difficult, defended by thirty pieces of artillery including a cortana ^[4] of great caliber.
The following day most of the Mantuan army, about 3,000-4,000 men together with a large part of the artillery, set off for Casalmaggiore, preceded by the Marquis who housed the night in Colorno at the Palazzo di Elisabetta Costanza del Carretto, wife of Galeazzo Sanseverino. On May 8, when the Marquis had now arrived in the Lodigiano, the army crossed the Po. ^[5]

Federico Contarini, Provider of Asola since June of the previous year, having learned that the bulk of the Mantuan army had crossed the Po, between 8 and 9 May carried out a series of raids devastating the enemy countryside. On the following night Alessio Beccaguto, captain of the Balestrieri del Marchesato, moving from Canneto, besieged the village of Casaloldo with 300-400 knights and 600 well-armed Mantuan infantrymen, supported by two iron cannons and two other bronze. The approximately 200 Venetian infantrymen to the Presidio of the castle of that village defended and immediately sent a messenger to warn the contact of the current attack. The Provider ordered Matteo from the village to rapidly gather about 200-300 local farmers, who were armed with spears, falcions and Ronconi, after which he met the enemy together with his 100 infantrymen and 70 infantrymen in command of Angelo Avogadro da Brozzo. The Mantovans moved to Castelnuovo and the two armies met in the fields around today’s country cemetery in Sant’Emiliano. The fray was harsh and the Mantuan probably did not expect such determination by an army consisting mostly from peasants. During the clash the same Beccaguto was injured who fell into the waters of Tartaro. The Mantuan soldiers, seeing that the commander had been wounded and unpardrated together with many of them, gave themselves to a disordered escape to Canneto. Fanti and riders settled were largely captured. ^[6]

The Venetians had slight losses while Sixty Mantovani died, a hundred were injured, eighty taken prisoners together with fifty horses and four cannons. The prisoners, stripped of weapons and tied, were led to Asola. A few days later Beccaguto fell again in an ambush from Tesagli by Venetian Stradiotti in Castiglione delle Bag; Twenty -four men died there and other eighties were captured.
Four days after the victory of Casaloldo, the Venetians suffered a disastrous defeat in Agnadello at the hands of the French and were forced to retire from all over Lombardy and by most of the Veronese, looking after the Adige. ^[7]

The episode was immortalized in a 18th century painting preserved at the Ducal Palace of Venice.

• Marin Sanudo, Diary , Vol. 8, Venezia, Linaldo Fulin, 1882, pp. 10-1 157-2
• Antonio Besutti, History of Asola , Mantua, 1952.
• Mariano Vignoli, Casaloldo, 10 May 1509. The Antefatti, The Castle, the Battle, the Casaloldo and the Battle of 10 May 1509, edited by M. Vignoli, Municipality of Casaloldo – Publi Paolini, Mantua, 2009, pages. 79-111.
• Augusto Bolher, The siege of Asola 1516. The death of Ricino Daina 1522 , Asola. ISBN 978-88-6867-129-7