The Carmagnola: plot

The protagonist of the Conte di Carmagnola, whose historical basis in the first half of the fifteenth century has been documented, is Francesco Bussone, a captain of fortune who spends some time in the service of the Duke of Milan Filippo Maria Visconti (who appointed him Count of Carmagnola) and marries a relative of the Duke, Antonietta Visconti. He then falls into disgrace and enters the service of the Venetian Republic, where he is assigned command in the war with the Duchy of Milan. The Count defeats the Milanese in the Battle of Maclodio (1427), but then his ambivalent and indecisive behaviour in the aftermath of the war arouses suspicion of treason among the Venetian Senators, who use a pretext to oblige him to return, whereupon they sentence him to death. The dramatic representation of events is faithful to the historical facts, but re-elaborates themes and characters. Arranged into five acts (following the criteria set out in the author’s Prefazione), it does not respect the traditional unities of time and place, but takes place in several places and spans a period of seven years. In the first act, the scene is set in the Venetian Senate, where the Senators decide to place the army under the Count’s command in the war against Milan. Marino, head of the Council of Ten, is against this decision, thus clashing with Senator Marco, Carmagnola’s close friend, who is in favour. In the next two acts, the setting moves to the Maclodio battlefield where the battle is prepared and takes place (re-evoked in the Chorus at the end of Act II). The Venetians win the battle, thanks to the Count’s tactical skills. The Count, however, following the military practice adopted by mercenaries, sets the prisoners free, thus arousing the suspicions of the Venetian governmental commissioners. The setting in Acts IV and V returns to Venice, where the Senate holds the Count guilty of treason and decides to recall him for trial. His sorrowing friend Marco must also bend to this superior will. The unsuspecting Count returns, and after proclaiming his innocence in vain before the Doge and Senators, is imprisoned and sentenced to death. The tragedy ends with the Count’s final farewell to wife Antonietta and daughter Matilde.