Milan razed by Barbarossa

March 6, 1162

After a two-year siege, Frederick's army entered Milan and, on imperial orders, began systematically dismantling the city. The inhabitants were scattered to four unfortified villages. The destruction, meant as an object lesson to the Lombard cities, made Milan the symbol of civic resistance to empire. Within a decade the Milanese would return, rebuild their walls, and join the Lombard League that would humiliate Barbarossa at Legnano.