The pope cut him short, "So let it take root in Forolivii and in Romandiola, and then baptize all of them and establish papal legates to whom allegiance can be sworn, since that land has been ceded to us by the Emperor Rudolph of Alemania
14
"The question is a little more complex, Eminence..." said the historian.
"Explain this to me."
"They, unlike others, have already refused to elect the Most Holy Virgin Mary of Candlemas as their patron, claiming their patron to be an ancient priestess called Livia Drusilla, Diva Augusta
15
"Sacred salt? Diva Augusta?"
"Yes, Eminence, those saltpans were founded by Livio Salinatore, an ancient ancestor of this Livia Drusilla, and still today they send salt from there, during a sacred procession to that city for the feasts to honor her."
"And how can they still believe these things after centuries?" the pope laughed quietly.
"Well, Eminence, you should know that this Livia Drusilla was not a common priestess but the wife of Octavian Augustus and, in Forolivia, some still wish to remember her as such and to keep her as protector, even if it is partially hidden by them, replied the papal historian.
"How do you know all this?"
"I learned everything from a friar of a particular religious order that was founded in Ravenna by Emperor Otto III two hundred years ago, a very good friend of Geremia Gotto and Guido Bonatti."
"Geremia Gotto and Guido Bonatti? The armed patarines
16
"In person, Excellency, and they are both in Forlì among the ranks of the Ghibelline in the service of Guido da Montefeltro."
"Oh dear, the excommunicated captain of the Ghibellines?"
"Yes, Excellency!"
"But are they all that mad!"
"Indeed, Excellency, they are a little peculiar."
"You also spoke of a religious order founded by Emperor Otto III in Ravenna. What religious order are you talking about?" asked the pope.
"In Ravenna, Otto III founded a religious group with all practices and beliefs that still seem to be extant today."
"What practices and beliefs do they follow?"
"They seem to affirm the reincarnation and pre-existence of souls."
"Oh, there you are. Gnostic heresy.
17
"That may be so, Otto III was that young emperor who two centuries ago claimed to have been Charlemagne and appointed an antipope named Sylvester II to be re-elected as Constantine the Great, the legitimate heir of the Roman Empire," replied the historian.
"Charlemagne, Constantine? Would you like to explain better what he did?" asked the pope.
"Certainly, Excellency. Otto III, around the year 1000, entered the Aachen cathedral, marked a point on the floor, then took a pickaxe, began to break through the floor and found the body of Charlemagne underground, it was still intact sitting on a throne, adorned and all decked out as a bishop, holding the Gospel in one hand and the staff of command in the other."
"And why did he do this?"
"Because he said he was his reincarnation and that he had returned to take his place as Holy Roman Emperor."
"And then?"
"He took the bishop's tiara that Charlemagne had on his head and put it on his own, then took Charlemagne's staff of command and said he had returned to rule."
"And then?" the pope asked more and more incredulously.
"Then, still not happy, he went to Ravenna and founded this particular religious group and appointed the bishop of Ravenna antipope, with the name of Sylvester II, to crown him emperor, exactly as Pope Sylvester had crowned Constantine emperor of the Christians, seven centuries earlier, at the time of ancient Rome," explained the historian.
"And why did he create this final scene?"
"To make everyone believe he was also the reincarnation of Constantine and to take back what he considered to be his property, that is the territories the church was trying to take from him, the empire, thanks to the gift of Constantine."
"And so he said he was the reincarnation of Charlemagne and Constantine to take the land back from the Holy Roman Empire?" exclaimed the pope.
"Those, Your Holiness."
"Those who?"
"Frederick Barbarossa and Frederick II also exhumed the body of Charlemagne and proclaimed something like this. And I would bet that this tradition has also been handed down to the astrologer Guido Bonatti and to Friar Geremia Gotto."
18
"But these are all crazy."
"I told you, Excellency, that they were a little particular," concluded the historian.
4. Confrontations between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in Romagna
But why did the Church want Romagna?
What had happened between the papacy and emperors in those times?
Let's go back a few decades and take a look at a chronicle of the time.
Romagna in 1200
Although Pepin King of the Franks
19
20
The residents of Forlì continued to obey the laws of the empire, while the residents of Faenza and Ravenna obeyed those of the Church.
Forlì, formerly named Forum Livii, in particular, was one of the most Ghibelline city in Italy and it was not a coincidence that Guido Bonatti, one of the best astrologers of his time, despite being born in Florence, requested and obtained citizenship of Forlì, believing that location to be the final place left in the world that maintained imperial traditions after the fall of the ancient empire of Rome, for reasons that you will soon discover for yourself.
In 1240, when Pietro Traversari died, who was the leader of the Guelphs of Romagna and lord of Ravenna,
21
In less than a week Ravenna fell and surrendered.
Now it was Faenza's turn to surrender, but the city, believing that Frederick II's forces were insufficient to cause it to capitulate, did not surrender and the emperor placed it under siege.
5. The siege of Faenza
Faenza resisted for seven months, infuriating Frederick himself, since years before he had already conquered the town and it had come to terms with him.
Furthermore, during the siege Frederick II ran out of gold and money and had to resort to the help of the Forlì people to conquer Faenza, he also requested the Forlì people to issue special augustarians
22
So, after having conquered Faenza, Frederick II wanted to raze it to the ground and erase it from the earth, saying all who were against the Faenza who, defeated, were unable to appease his fury in any way and had begun to have it dismantled by teams of scouts.
The people of Faenza, not knowing what else to do, even turned to their nearby enemies from Forlì, begging them to intervene and intercede with the emperor to stop the devastation he was causing to the detriment of their city.
The people of Forlì accepted the requests for help from Faenza and went as a delegation to intercede with the emperor to halt the destruction of the city.
Frederick, not without objections and protests against the people of Faenza, whom he considered traitors,
23
Thus the two cities became, until Frederick's death, two cities united in a small state governed by the same imperial laws and defended by the same arms.
Furthermore, because of their loyalty, Frederick granted the people of Forlì the right to use the black eagle on a gold field
24
Many things changed, however, in 1249, when Frederick II died in Puglia and especially in the following years, when Carlo d'Anjou defeated Frederick II's son, Manfredi, in Benevento in 1266.
Thus the Guelphs, who had been expelled from Florence a few years earlier after their defeat at the battle of Montaperti, began to regain strength in Florence and Bologna. A battle began in those cities for dominance over the Ghibellines, which briefly extended to all of Romagna, with the support of the Church that claimed that land to be hers.