Corte de' Frati
Corte de' Frati (Cremunés: ) is a municipality (comune) in the province of Cremona, in the Lombardy Italian region. History The main history of Corte de' Frati is related to the establishment of the Court of Alfiano. In fact, the original name of the municipality was Court of Alfiano, a name referring to a patrician family who owned these lands. 10th century After the extinction of the Carolingian and the Saxon dynasty, the 10th century was the era of castles and fortress, and the population had to face wars provoked by the Counts. From 950 to 1000, the Bresciani and Cremonesi Counts fought among the lands of the river Oglio, near Bordolano and Canneto, because the Bresciani imposed taxes on the Cremonesi's lands. During this period, the castle of Corte De' Frati was born, but now it does not exist anymore. On 1004, Henry II conquered Brescia and the Court of Alfiano belonged to the Santa Giulia Monastery in Brescia. 13th century During the 13th century, a bridge was built by the Cremonesi people near Grumone, a frazione of the nowadays Corte de' Frati, in order not to pay the toll bridge enforced by the Bresciani on the bridge of Pontevico. This new project gave life to a war between the two dynasties: in 1213 the Bresciani ordered to the Cremonesi that the bridge was to be destroyed because it was built on the Brescian territory. The bridge, however, was not destroyed until 1228, when Alfiano was assaulted by an armed conflict between Bresciani and Cremonesi, during which the majority of warriors died and those who survived were imprisoned. Afterwards, the two dynasties did not resume their hostilities for a long time because in 1237 the territory was occupied by Frederick II, who used the contested bridge to move easily around Cremonese territory. In the first half of the 13th century, under the pontificate of Pope Innocent III, the Italian religious order of Humiliati was born and in 1246 they held the Saint Abbondio Church in Cremona. The Humiliati also took possession of Alfiano, whose name was transformed into Corte de' Frati. 14th century During the 14th century, the raids by the Bresciani on the territory started again, and the Cremonesi's raids were mostly done in Pontevico. The city of Cremona strengthened the cities near the Oglio river to avoid new conflicts. In 1324, Louis IV reconfirmed to the Cremonesi all the privileges and rights previously granted by their predecessors. This event led to new hostilities and disagreements with the Bresciani. Facing a rivalry that was never going to end, the archbishop of Milan Giovanni Visconti issued a law stating that the toll fee of Pontevico's bridge was unmodifiable. 15th century The beginning of the 15th century faced a new armed conflict between the lord of Brescia Pandolfo Malatesta, and the lord of Cremona Cabrino Fondulo. Pandolfo came to the Cremonese territory with an army and took possession of Robecco, Alfiano, Corte de' Frati and other villages near the Oglio