The War of the Bucket was the result of a long-term feud between the Italian cities of Bologna and Modena. The feud had been going on since 1075. It was between supporters of the Pope and supporters of the Holy Roman Emperor. Bologna was a Pope city and Modena sided with the Emperor. In 1325, the two cities were involved in raids on each other. The countryside was ravaged and there was some bloodshed. One day, some Modenese snuck into Bologna and stole the oaken bucket in the municipal well. It was put on display in city hall. This means war!!! Pope XXII declared the leader of Modena a heretic. The Bolognese marched on Modena with an army of 30,000 foot soldiers and 2,000 cavalry. The Modenese met them near the town of Zappolino. They had only 5,000 infantry and 2,000 horsemen, but the core of their army was German mercenaries. These professionals easily routed the Bolognese citizen militia. Following the rabble, the Modenese laid siege to Bologna. The siege failed and the war ended. The bucket still remains in Modena’s city hall.
In another version, the war started when the Modenese captured a Bologna castle. The bucket was actually a war trophy that was taken from a well outside Bologna.
https://www.historynet.com/what-we-learned-from-the-battle-of-zappolino-1325/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Bucket
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