Siege of Viterbo
1243 CE.
Shown on the map at 42.419°, 12.104°.
The siege of Viterbo was a military engagement fought in 1243 between forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the predominantly Guelph government of Viterbo, supported by the Papal States. The crisis began on 8 September when a revolt organised with the assistance of Cardinal Ranieri Capocci overthrew the city's pro-imperial government and confined an imperial garrison under Simone da Chieti in the fortified quarter of San Lorenzo. Frederick regarded Viterbo, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Rome, as a strategically important base for imperial power in central Italy and personally led an army to recover it. After several weeks of fighting, including two major imperial assaults, the Viterbese successfully defended their field fortifications. A large attack on 10 November was defeated by a counterattack which destroyed much of Frederick's siege equipment and forced him to abandon the operation. The imperial garrison subsequently evacuated the city under a negotiated agreement, leaving Viterbo under papal and Guelph control.
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