Battle of Castione
| Battle of Castione | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Castione | |
| Result | Victory for the Golden Ambrosian Republic |
Uri
Golden Ambrosian RepublicThe Battle of Castione was fought on 6 July 1449 between the
Swiss canton of Uri
.
The site of the battle is near that of the earlier Battle of Arbedo, both in the territory of the current-day municipality of Arbedo-Castione in the Swiss canton of Ticino.
Background
The cause of both battles was the contest for control of the nearby fortified city of
Misox
. Uri had won Bellinzona in 1419, but lost it again as a result of the Battle of Arbedo of 1422.
In 1439, Uri launched a renewed campaign to regain the valleys in the southern Alps, and in 1441 forced Milan to yield the
Leventina (which had already come under Swiss control in 1430). The Milanese War of Succession that followed the death of Duke Filippo Maria Visconti in 1447 and the formation of the Golden Ambrosian Republic
encouraged Uri to push towards Bellinzona once again.
Battle
In early 1449, Uri occupied Leventina and the
Castione, north of Bellinzona.[1]
The village was burned down, and Uri was forced to retreat to the Misox. Milan secured control over Bellinzona and the Riviera.
Aftermath
A formal peace treaty was enacted in 1450, and in 1466, Milan agreed to grant the Leventina to Uri permanently. The defeat at Castione halted Swiss expansion south of the Alps for several decades,[1] until the Confederate campaign of 1478, and the Swiss victory in the Battle of Giornico in 1487.
In
Swiss historiography, the account of the Battle of Castione was corrupted because historian Theodor von Liebenau (1840–1914) confused it with the Battle of Castiglione Olona (1450), fought between the Ambrosian Republic and forces of Francesco I Sforza.[1] Proper identification of the battle was left to historians of the 20th century.[2]
See also
- Battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy
References
