Battle of Castagnaro

The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on March 11, 1387 at Castagnaro (today's Veneto, northern Italy) between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age. The army of Verona was led by Giovanni Ordelaffi and Ostasio II da Polenta, while the victorious Paduans were commanded by John Hawkwood (Giovanni Acuto) and Francesco Novello da Carrara, the son of Francesco I, lord of Padua. John Hawkwood brought 1,100 of his own condottiere (600 cavalry and 500 archers, or vice versa depending on the source) to supplement the Paduan forces of 8,000 men (Giuseppe Marcotti places the number dismounted condottiere at 6,000 men, along with a reserve of 1,600 horse. He also goes on to say that there were 1,000 native footmen of Padua, and 600 crossbowman guarding a

Battle of Castagnaro

The Battle of Castagnaro was fought on March 11, 1387 at Castagnaro (today's Veneto, northern Italy) between Verona and Padua. It is one of the most famous battles of the Italian condottieri age. The army of Verona was led by Giovanni Ordelaffi and Ostasio II da Polenta, while the victorious Paduans were commanded by John Hawkwood (Giovanni Acuto) and Francesco Novello da Carrara, the son of Francesco I, lord of Padua. John Hawkwood brought 1,100 of his own condottiere (600 cavalry and 500 archers, or vice versa depending on the source) to supplement the Paduan forces of 8,000 men (Giuseppe Marcotti places the number dismounted condottiere at 6,000 men, along with a reserve of 1,600 horse. He also goes on to say that there were 1,000 native footmen of Padua, and 600 crossbowman guarding a