"Who first invented these horrific arms?
Henceforth, carnage and war erupted,
the straightest path to cruel death opened.
Yet, blame not that wretch…
for we make poor use of what he gave us
for self-defense against ferocious beasts."
As the hour approached…
…for which fate, with God's consent,
appointed as our lordship's last,
each of us, forgetful of himself…
FEDERICO GONZAGA MARQUIS OF MANTUA
…wept with grief how destiny…
LOYSO GONZAGA COUSIN OF FEDERICO
…would senselessly bring death, at war's greatest need…
to a captain so noble and brave.
He had little occasion in this last war he waged,
for feats of arms, we'd come to expect of him.
GROOM OF CAPTAIN DE MEDICI
For these days,
it is custom to proceed above all by intrigue
and political maneuvering.
Dispatch from his Lordship Federico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua,
to the Rt. Hon. Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara…
ALFONSO D'ESTE - DUKE OF FERRARA
Milord Giovannino was brought to Mantua yesterday,
to be treated for a wound to his leg
sustained in a skirmish with Frundsberg Germans.
But doctors pronounced him in mortal danger.
'Tis not enough to be loyal and valorous in arms…
DUKE OF URBINO
…as you have been,
if the good name which is yours is not bolstered
by the religion of our faith,
under whose precepts we were born, and have lived.
Near daybreak,
he came back to himself, in torment of every kind.
And the instant he saw me,
he ordered me to have Maria, his wife,
send him his son Cosimo.
WIFE OF JOANNI DE MEDICI
As he spoke, death, who called him to the earth,
redoubled his sorrow.
He ordered me to have his camp bed brought to him,
so as to die as a soldier.
At that, his eyes glazed over and light,
gave way to perpetual darkness.
I learned even His Holiness was moved.
Though, he could not help but grieve
the tragic fate of Milord Giovanni, his nephew,
the Holy Father recognized
the evil side he knew was in him, taking precedence over good.
MATTEO CUSASTRO CHANCELLOR OF GONZAGA
But say nothing more of this…
since God has found a remedy.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Giovanni de' Medici,
Captain of His Holiness Pope Clement VII's army,
remained ill for four days
then died in the land of Grifone…
LIFE AND ARMY LIFE OF JOANNI DALLE BANDE NERE
…of the fever
after being wounded in the leg by cannon fire
in Mantua, the last day of November, 1526.
MANTUA, 30TH NOVEMBER 1526
BOCCADIGARDA PO 6 DAYS EARLIER
German wagons!
You there, in the wagon! You're too far behind!
Move closer!
Throw them over!
Today, Saturday afternoon…
23RD OF NOVEMBER 1526 FROM VENICE TO THE SIGNORIA IN FLORENCE
…having joined the rear guard of the Landsknechts near the Po,
milord Giovanni de' Medici and his light horsemen
charged with such fervor,
that the enemy retreated in confusion,
losing several supply wagons.
General!
The captain of the Medici attacked our supply wagons!
-That devil and his black bands! -The order stands.
Avoid any confrontation.
The reason for this harassment is now clear.
Let's avoid losses and cross the river quickly.
These Germans of Emperor Charles V, elite forces,
invaded Italy with 18,000 infantry,
who've already pillaged some of our cities.
But they've only yet received half-pay,
and harquebuses and blunderbusses aside, they have no artillery.
The forward march of the German invasion
met with General della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, and his Pontifical Army,
whose 8,000 infantry and 600 lancers
were preceded by Giovanni de' Medici with 600 men of arms,
and as many light horses and harquebus men.
His design
was to slow the Germans down by harassing them
day and night.
So, Captain De' Medici had all armor burnished
to take the enemy by surprise in darkness.
BRIDGE AT SAN NICOLÒ PO GONZAGA TERRITORY
We were at first uncertain
about the road the Germans followed,
and when they were eight miles from Mantua,
they seemed to want to cross the river
at Borgoforte or San Nicolò Po.
But on that part of the river, as there were no more bridges,
they had great trouble getting to the other side
and halted, much to the chagrin of the local people.
The bridge is down!
The pontificals cut the ropes.
The German supreme commander, General Frundsberg,
wished to hasten back to Rome,
having prepared his people for the extermination of priests
and to plunder the Church's riches.
He boasted of having a golden cord
attached to his saddle, and ranted
about wanting to use it to hang the Pope.
BORGO GABBIANA PONTIFICAL CAMP
An urgent dispatch.
A courier.
Have a courier prepared to leave.
A courier for the Captain De' Medici!
We must flush out Frundsberg
before he crosses the river and opens his way to Parma.
If he refuses to engage us, then he wants to march on Rome.
In mid-winter, he won't find food and ammunition.
He knows how to get them.
That Lutheran!
Not for long.
To Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino,
commander in chief of the Pontifical army:
"…commander in chief of the Pontifical Army."
It seems to me
that Italian troops are undisciplined…
-and they don't obey orders. -"Orders."
Therefore, our infantry cannot…
"Our infantry cannot…"
…sustain the shock…
"Shock…"
…of German troops in the countryside,
regardless of these troops
having no artillery.
And it would be better to harass
these Landsknecht troops
through skirmishes and hit-and-run attacks,
so as to inconvenience them, but also to block
their supply lines, the only way to upset
the order and win victory
over such well-organized people.
"…over such well-organized people."
Your loyal and obedient servant, Giovanni de' Medici.
Here is the pay for a soldier of our time!
An harquebus bullet flattened like a coin!
Colonel Cuppano,
the new firearms change wars,
but wars change the world.
"To the Right Honorable Captain Giovanni de' Medici.
Your Lordship must be assured
that he is so dear to me,
that I shall always deeply regret
when he makes a request I cannot satisfy,
such as has occurred today, with respect to the artillery
he solicits, but which I cannot risk doing without."
And certainly, I know no one,
for whom I would do without it in these troubled times.
"That is why…"
"I ardently pray the honored Captain De' Medici
to forgive me for not satisfying
his request for artillery.
Your devoted brother, Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara."
Beards and long hair are a nest for lice…
and favor the enemy.
-I could eat me a dog! -And I a bitch!
These rascals of every race and religion
cause all kinds of trouble! They rape women,
burn haylofts and massacre cattle,
empty trunks and chests, and what's worse,
they have no respect for our lands and simple folk.
The Pope's infantry are poorly paid, the soldiers are penniless.
Enough!
When penniless, they are troublemakers!
Only the Germans leaving will rid us of the Pontificals.
Those knaves harm those they should defend
as much as those they battle.
To end this war at minimal cost,
we'd do well to favor the passage of General Frundsberg
and his army by the Curtatone gate.
The German wants to cross the Po to get rid of the Pontificals.
Fog tonight, tomorrow clouds.
If the Landsknechts get
one day's advance on the Pontificals,
they can cross the river and open the way to Milan.
CURTATONE
-Officer of the guard! -At your service!1
Discreetly inform the Vicar, that by order of the Gonzagas,
passage through this gate tonight is granted to General Frundsberg
-and to his German guard. -Yes, Your Excellency.
CURTATONE GATE GONZAGA PALACE
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What will they say in Mantua when they see me…
begging favors from anyone but you?
You shall be blamed.
So, there it is, the reward for my honor…
which, without hesitation, I delivered to the world's unkind eyes.
All know the ardor
of the love you have shown.
They know I surrendered myself to you.
They know that never my favors
did I deny you.
How cruel it is
that from this love, which I thought would burn forever,
I have taken only eternal dishonor.
All that's left to me, is to suffer the disgrace of my husband,
and I can only expect the certain arrival of a disastrous fate.
ESTENSI CASTLE FERRARA
In the name of his Majesty, the Emperor,
the German ambassador
for the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso d'Este!
-His precious Imperial Highness… -His precious Imperial Highness
Charles V, Emperor of Germany,
has sent to me personally,
a noble ambassador,
that I may partake
of his very honorable investiture.
And also, to bring me the marriage contract
of our elder son Hercules,
and his beloved daughter,
the distinguished Margaret of Austria.
Firearm known as "falconetto,"
a new, rear-loading mechanism.
Faster to load, greater range of fire.
A great weapon.
Very important.
A big advantage for Frundsberg.
Quickly!
Hide them well.
Dearest wife, please send me six plates,
some bowls, some larger cups,
two tablecloths and eight napkins.
And two woolen waistcoats,
for the region is so damp and cold.
Since our last missive,
nothing has happened here
deserving that I inform your Lordship of.
And if not for the fact
that by these letters,
I may speak to you in your absence,
I should not bother your Lordship.
Keep it straight, move it up! For God's sake!
Keep to the bank!
Straight on! With the current!
That's it! Give us some slack!
FERRARA
Stop!
Identify yourselves!
I am Matteo Cusastro,
chancellor to the Rt. Hon. Marquis of Mantua.
I bear greetings from his Lordship and his promise of hospitality
for General Frundsberg
and the imperial army in the Gonzaga stronghold.
Fill it, so, it lasts all night.
Read me something.
Here's what Machiavelli writes…
"The loyalty of mercenaries is short-lived.
Why should they be loyal, since they do not know you?
To what gods, what saints can they be made to swear?
Those they adore, or those they blaspheme?
I know of none they adore,
but I know they blaspheme all.
Nothing is more false than the idea
that money is the nerve of war,
more so than politics."
Captain De' Medici!
-Who is there? -Luc'Antonio.
Frundsberg's been spotted on the road to Mantua.
Between Montanara and Curtatone.
Preceded by a squad bearing the arms of Gonzaga.
-Is that certain? -According to our patrol.
That vermin Federico. First, he swears loyalty to the Pope,
then offers protection to the Germans.
It's politics, Sir Aretino. Like Machiavelli writes,
politics count more than arms.
The Germans have turned back
to cross the Po. We can't stop them now.
We stop Frundsberg, we stop the war!
Moving at night, the great risk is the swamps.
The soldier's greatest bother.
War is nothing but bother, dear Luc'Antonio.
Have light horsemen and harquebus men ready to leave.
Guards!
One moment!
Wait! A coach is coming out.
Let it through!
Draw up the gate, but don't lock the chains.
Two sentinels on the watershed awaiting orders!
Where are you off to at this hour of night?
Are you looking for hell?
Do you run from crows on your roof?
Are your souls damned to restlessness?
De profundis clamo te Domine.
We're looking for the Pontificals' quarters.
Look for salvation, depraved souls!
It's a time of meanness and ignorance
and for the triumph of the Beast!
For you, no pardon or salvation!
Anyone there?
Answer!
We want Captain De' Medici.
They're all gone.
They broke camp and they all left.
Go on! Let's keep looking.
Pontifical courier!
Tell Captain De' Medici!
The Germans are through Curtatone!
Pick up the pace!
And stay together!
Vicar, have the guard deployed!
All torches and lanterns out!
Quick! No light must be visible at a distance.
Silence!
Drawbridges up and lock the chains!
Fast!
Order all not to answer anyone!
You there, where are you going?
Stop!
Parma Customs.
Who are you, Venetian dog?
The salt caique.
From Ferrara to Mantua.
What are you taking?
Always authorized!
So, go fuck yourself!
And your bitch of a mother!
And your pig of a father!
Quick!
Come on!
Tonight, we made it.
Commander Frundsberg told me he realizes
the damage caused by the passage of his soldiers through our land.
But it's war. Nothing can be done.
And to you, he shall ever be most grateful,
for granting permission to cross through,
which gave him the advantage,
gaining him ground on the Papal Army,
and crossing the Po at Ostiglia, the only bridge left.
But let us shed the last doubt
by sending an urgent dispatch to His Holiness
to say how much your Lordship
begs the Pope's forgiveness
for what he was forced to do, in spite of himself.
For you never could have kept the Landsknechts from passing,
as they'd have forced the way.
Guards! Open up!
Lower the drawbridge!
It's Giovanni de' Medici,
captain of the Pontifical Army, requesting passage!
We're looking for the Frundsbergs! Open up!
Tell the Vicar to give the order.
Don't answer.
In the name of His Holiness and the so-Christian king!
May the Eternal Father strike you down!
Open this door!
Traitors to the Church!
Or tomorrow, I'll slit your throats, beginning with the Vicar!
And that whoring Gonzaga!
-Shirkers! -Vultures!
Traitorous vermin! Bastards!
Bastards!
What now, at this hour of night?
Captain De' Medici.
He came to the Curtatone gate with his men.
He's after Frundsberg in the dead of night.
He threatened the Vicar and Your Lordship.
He says if we don't lower the bridge,
tomorrow morning, a head will roll.
There, wood for the fire. All we need to keep warm.
Look!
What a strange Christ!
The Christ of the unfortunate,
of those who are hungry, and those who are cold.
INRI
BANDE NERE BIVOUAC NEAR THE CURTATONE WALLS
If pay doesn't arrive soon from Rome, what do we tell the men?
To be content with papal blessings?
Hot wine against the cold?
Dear Luc'Antonio, in Rome, they know
that blessings without arms don't win wars.
Stand him up.
Pull on the head.
Careful he doesn't bite you!
Or send you to hell to burn your ass.
Me, to keep from dying of cold,
I'd burn Christ and the Madonna!
Dearest wife,
I want you to go to Rome.
The sooner, the better.
You know my needs.
Explain to His Holiness the Pope,
how badly I need means.
In war, to have prestige with the soldiers,
one must spend whatever it costs.
I had a small bed made
that two men can carry without too much trouble.
Our little Cosimo has had a slight fever for two days,
but never doubting he will recover,
we left for Rome,
though, the weather has turned to snow.
SUNDAY 24TH OF NOVEMBER
Where is that bastard Vicar?
You, go tell that whoring Federico
who's always mounting harlots,
that once I've met the Germans, I shall return
and settle the score with that wretch
who last night, left me outside!
I'll twist his guts until he vomits shit!
Is it our fault
if the Vicar respects the order to open for no one,
not even the Holy Father, at that hour?
Eminence.
If he'd bothered to warn us in time,
as gentlemen are expected to do,
we'd have surely given the order to open
the Curtatone gate for him.
But His Holiness
knows better than anyone of what stuff Sir Giovanni's made.
He's always been of the most violent sort.
Still a boy, his sword fell upon a companion in ribaldry.
Holy Mother, what fog this morning!
On the banks of the Po, near Mantua, tucked away,
General Frundsberg has received
the four pieces of artillery
secretly given to him by Alfonso d'Este. The German,
now assured of surprising the Pontificals with the cannon,
has resolved to cross the Po at Ostiglia,
to at last be rid of Captain De' Medici,
whose light horsemen are quick upon his trail,
making up lost ground, headed straight for Bagnolo San Vito,
where the avant-garde of the German army is arriving
in forced march for hours.
As soon as our country is rid of the passage of these armies,
we shall be free from the disaster of war.
It looks like the head of the column.
The Frundsberg guard?
But he isn't there. It's a trick.
Armored forces to the center.
-Forces to the center. -Forces to the center!
Take position on the knoll.
-Take position on the knoll. -Take position on the knoll!
In firing range.
-In firing range. -In firing range!
Charge!
Do not resist!
Keep to the bank!
Do not resist!
They're retreating! They refuse to fight!
Wretched scoundrels!
Fight like soldiers!
What kind of men are you?
Cowardly bastards!
Although last Friday and Saturday,
we crossed through snow and wind on a horrible journey,
we arrived in Rome last night, at our father's house,
safe and sound, praise God.
We were at once received by your uncle the Pope,
with much affection and all manner of attention.
I spoke to him of your needs for the war.
The Pope's answer was
that his support will never falter in whatever, day and night,
burdens your Lordship.
Should we prepare to go back before nightfall?
Before nightfall…
there is one more thing.
Flush out Frundsberg!
To your mounts, two by two.
Light horsemen, harquebus men, two by two!
What are you so proud of, blackguards?
Where do you think you're going, armed like murderers?
No need for your weapons
to exterminate the peoples of this world.
Harken me! As incensed as you may be,
the vengeance of the Lord is far mightier
than all your swords!
Shut up, priest!
True riches are not of this world!
Stabulum hoc praeponere cielo!
You are nothing but shadow, hollow effigies!
ANCIENT FURNACES IN GOVERNOLO
It's him!
An ambush!
Retreat!
Cannons!
General della Rovere informs your Lordship
that he's not yet been brought to his quarters.
We are sure
he was wounded in a skirmish with the Landsknechts,
who were hidden near an old kiln
in San Nicolò da Po.
Giovanni had gone there with many light horsemen
and they were taken by surprise, falconetto fire.
General della Rovere is therefore very worried,
not knowing where Frundsberg's artillery comes from.
We have already advised
His Holiness the pontiff
that the Marquis Federico possesses no artillery.
And the little we have,
we want to keep it as our only defense,
and nothing else.
Though we should certainly not favor
any who would use such firepower to the church's detriment,
and in particular, against the Pope.
The Germans' artillery,
for as much as we know,
belongs to the Duke of Ferrara,
who ceded it to Frundsberg by night,
under cover and by the river,
in skiffs like those used for transporting salt
since neither the Duke's officers nor our own
inspect them closely.
Look!
It's snowing!
Holy Virgin, how it's snowing!
The Right Honorable Lord Giovanni de' Medici,
captain-in-chief of the Pontifical Army!
The last shot from the falconetto.
-What shame! -The real shame
is that the winter truce is no longer observed,
the cold causing more harm than the weapons.
And our own Giovanni is first among these fanatics!
He even burnished the metal on the armor,
to fight during the night! What could be worse?
Honored General,
the error was to attack Germans with good leadership
who already had the advantage of position.
But if they refuse to admit their error…
then they shouldn't complain that the Curtatone gate
remained closed at night, as is the custom
since the dawn of time!
Milord Gonzaga,
Captain De' Medici expressly sought
your protection, and that of no other.
May God repay you one-hundred-fold
all your profusive favors.
'Tis already a great heavenly reward
to welcome Captain De' Medici.
Wounded in the same leg
as at the Battle of Pavia.
It was truly an honor for me
to do battle with a man such as yourself.
Your cousin, Marquis Federico, comes to visit
with General della Rovere, Duke of Urbino.
-General! -My heartfelt respects.
Dear cousin,
all of us here are sorry
for our little Giovanni's fate.
Without Captain De' Medici,
His Holiness the Pope now shall
have every reason to be preoccupied
about the outcome of this war.
It's strange that a general like yourself
should abandon the front to come visit invalids.
Yet, I must, in spite all, rejoice in my destiny,
since I owe it to my misfortune
that I've been led to Loyso's house,
whose friendship to me
is brotherly and more…
and where, if perchance I should die,
I would no longer be seen by the world
as your enemy, or that of the Gonzaga family.
Our Honorable Marquis Federico
hastened to urgently summon
the master surgeon, Habram,
who with all his science, shall take care of you.
For myself, for this haste,
as for all the rest, I am grateful to milord Federico,
for our long-standing friendship and his charity.
And I thank you, too…
my very honored friends.
But above all, I thank God,
without Whose will, nothing is done.
Master Habram has arrived.
Fine, let's leave him to his task.
FRIDAY 29TH OF NOVEMBER
It's no use. The leeches
refuse to suck.
We tried twice.
It's a sign the blood is spoiling.
The wound is rife with purulence.
Twenty hours passed before he was cared for.
The doctors declare him in mortal danger.
Nevertheless, nothing can be said for certain
until the end of the fourth day.
Your fierce nature
has always kept you from making use
of all my wealth
as I wanted you to.
Ask me now for anything
befitting your station
and my own.
Love me…
when I'm dead.
So that the purulent wound
doesn't invade and infect the whole body…
there is no other choice…
but to cut off his leg.
What it is right to do now,
let it be done.
Here, we should need linen to make sheets.
There's not one spool left at home.
You promised you'd send me some,
but I know this will not be.
I also sent your Lordship two robes,
two frocks and one tunic.
And also, two sachets of roses…
to put in your bed…
for the fragrance.
WEDNESDAY 27TH OF NOVEMBER
Everyone out!
Cut it!
With the help of the Almighty.
It pains me that I can't send the satin you requested.
As I wrote to you, when I am richer,
I'll be of greater service to you.
Am I cured?
MONDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER
Write to Maria, tell her not to be…
so quick to believe in misfortune…
and that at the next moon…
I shall return home.
This is only to let you know
that right now,
I am about to give birth…
and, being certain that I bear your Lordship's child…
though, I do not request any money of you,
I do ask of you the favor
of writing to my husband…
that out of respect for your Lordship,
he won't cease to keep me company as in the past…
in the sole interest of the child to be born…
since he shall be of your blood.
Please,
read me something.
De profundis clamo te domine.
Domine, audi voce mea
Fiant àures tuæ intendèntes…
Through the years…
of my life,
I have always lived…
as a soldier,
just as I would have lived
according to the rules of the cloth
had I chosen the priest's robe…
which you wear.
From the abyss, I cry out to Thee, O Lord.
Hear my voice.
Listen to my prayer.
If thou dost keep the memory of our misdeeds,
who could ever be saved?
Take pity on me, Lord.
Deliver me from all my misery.
And, in the immensity of Thy love,
erase all my sins.
O death, where is thy victory?
Where the searing iron of thy blade?
The infallible weapon of death
is in the law of sin.
But since I hope in Thee, Lord,
my soul has faith in Thy forgiveness
and my heart awaits Thee
more than sentinels await the dawn.
The Right Honorable Lord Giovanni de' Medici,
Captain of His Holiness Pope Clement VII's army
remained ill for four days…
…then died of the fever,
after being wounded in the leg by cannon fire
in Mantua,
the last day of November, 1526.
The Germans then followed the riverbanks.
In Ostiglia, they crossed the Po.
Rid of Captain Giovanni de' Medici,
nothing more stood in their way.
General Frundsberg, gravely ill,
had to abandon his troops and return home.
The army of His Majesty,
Emperor Charles V,
having joined forces with the Bourbon troops, conquered
and sacked the city of Rome
in May, 1527.
Because of the grievous fate
of Lord Giovanni de' Medici,
the most illustrious captains and commanders of all armies
expressed the wish
that never again be used against man,
the powerful firearm.