Destruction of Crema

Timeline

1. 1160Northern Italy (the Milan–Crema area) · LombardyAfter Crema's surrender in 1159 a truce was agreed, but Milan soon broke the accord, attacking and killing the envoys sent by the Empire. On this pretext Frederick I declared the truce void and decided on a punitive destruction of Crema.
2. 1160Crema · CremaImperial troops were ordered to raze Crema's walls, towers, houses, and public buildings; the city was almost leveled and its surviving inhabitants dispersed. The act was intended to warn the cities of the Lombard League, but instead drove more cities to join the anti-imperial alliance.
3. 1160Crema · CremaAfter the destruction Crema lay in ruins and became a symbol of the Lombard League's spirit of resistance. The city was gradually rebuilt only decades later, but the devastating blow of 1160 profoundly altered the region's demographic distribution and political landscape.