Pane, vino e carri: logistica e vettovagliamento nello stato visconteo trecentesco

Abstract

In every age the supply of an army took huge logistical effort, especially because it consisted of several thousand soldiers, hundred carts and, where conditions allowed it, chips transported everything needed for soldiers sustenance while the resources were bought in the territories crossed by them. Feeding large military contingent by plundering the countryside was not only difficult but also it was not politically recommended, in particular when soldiers were passing in the domains of the allies. Sometimes, the army supply was as difficult as the fight itself, considering that a marching soldier could bring supplies that were enough for only ten days. The all other supplies had to be carried by ox carriages, unfortunately oxen were very slow, and they slowed the movements of the forces, moreover, till the development of road engineering in the 18th century, European itineraries were not in good conditions. At that time, especially in Italy logistic and provisioning were unsolved problems nonetheless, thanks to unpublished materials I’m going to analyze the functioning of these issues limited to the territories in Visconti possession during the 14th century.