Inferno : Guelphs and Ghibellines Vie for Tuscany, 1259-1261

Tuscany, 1259. As the wealth of crafts and foreign trade elevated the urban families of northern Italy above the landed lords, rivalries within and between their cities hardened into a conflict between two major parties. The Ghibellines aligned themselves with the imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty that ostensibly ruled Italy, while the Guelphs supported rival imperial contenders and the greatest challenger to each emperor's authority, the Pope. If one faction gained the upper hand, others united to resist.
 
The comuni (republics) of Firenze and Siena dominated the Tuscan interior at the head of these competing alliances. As the Guelphs sealed their control of populous Florence, the Ghibelline Siena turned to the Hohenstaufen king Manfredi of Sicily for reinforcements. Local rebellions and reprisals escalated on both sides as political exiles stirred the pot. After Manfredi sent German knights to protect his loyal Tuscans, Florence gathered its people and allies to march on Siena, which responded with its own large army. Pisa and Lucca, Lombardy and Orvieto joined in. Guelph and Gibelin in September 1260 finally clashed en masse in the center of Tuscany, at Montaperti - the result, a bloody Florentine defeat. But when the Ghibelline exiles returned to control Florence, its Guelphs rallied in Lucca and Arezzo, foreshadowing an eternal conflagration.

Inferno - the third volume in Volko Ruhnke's Levy & Campaign series - ignites the cauldron of 13th-century Tuscan warfare, factional conflicts fueled by gold florins and the teeming populations of emerging cities and wealthy valleys. Expert Italian wargame designer Enrico Acerbi brings the era to life in Volko's accessible medieval operating system. Gathering transport and fodder is perhaps not so much the challenge here as the sudden betrayal of rebel towns and castles along the main roads. Italy's raiding berrovieri horsemen, famed elite crossbowmen and distinctive palvesari shield bearers are just a few of the unique inhabitants of this volume. Gather round, mount your horses and find out whose blood will make Arbia blush!

Components:

•      One 17 x 22 inch mounted map
•      175 wooden pieces
•      106 playing cards
•      Three full-color counter sheets
•      15 cardboard Lord and Battle cards
•      One Lords sticker sheet
•      Four game aid sheets
•      Two screens
•      Rules booklet
•      Background booklet
•      6 six-sided dice