Travelogue - September 20 2008
The Via Francigena follows a route towards Calendasco and then on to Piacenza. Danilo the boatman had given us some tips and instructions on a short cut and path when we reach Malpaga just before the River Trebia. Since it September the river is normally dry at this time of the year, so we can cross the river here and take a short cut across the farmer fields to rejoin the Via Francigena once in Piacenza.
The crossing is approximately the same location where the Battle of the Trebia occurred, though some people argue that the battle took place about 2 km south of this spot. The battle was the first major conflict of the Second Punic War between the forces of Hannibal and the Roman Empire in 218BC.
Hannibal decided when and where the battle would be fought. An initial inspection concluded that the plain west of the Trebia River was an ideal Roman battleground, free of major obstacles. However, during his scouting, Hannibal found a gully, where he placed 2,000 men commanded by his brother Mago. The next morning, Hannibal sent his Numidian cavalry across the river, with orders to provoke the Romans into battle with a series of attacks on their outposts.
The Roman commander Longus reacted exactly as Hannibal hoped, sending his own cavalry and skirmishers against the Numidians, before ordering his main army to prepare to cross the river and offer battle. This was a slow process, especially for such a large and inexperienced army, and probably took several hours, before the Roman army, tired and wet, was in place facing Hannibal's smaller but rested force.
The two forces were now drawn up for the first major set piece battle of the war. Hannibal formed his 20,000 heavy infantry into a thin line in the middle of his line, with the Gauls in the middle and the Libyans and Spanish on their flanks, with his 10,000 cavalry split evenly between the two wings, and of course Mago's 2,000 men hidden to the Roman rear. The Roman army was formed up in their standard formation, with the 16,000 legionnaires in the centre, 10,000 allied infantry on each flank, and finally 2,000 cavalry on each flank.
Longus ordered his army to advance in the traditional Roman manner, slowly and in good order. The first clash was between the skirmishers of the two armies. The Roman troops were outnumbered, probably tired, and of a lower quality than Hannibal's own skirmishers, and were quickly dispatched. The Roman cavalry suffered in a similar way, and soon Hannibal's cavalry and skirmishers were attacking the flanks of the Roman army. Only in the centre did the Romans do better, where they outnumbered Hannibal's troops. Even Mago's attack, which did much to finish off the Roman allies, did not defeat the legions, which broke through Hannibal's centre. Without reserves, Hannibal might have been in trouble, but by now it was clear that the Romans had lost, and the 10,000 legionaries made no attempt to rejoin the battle, instead fleeing back to Piacenza.
This was the first defeat Hannibal had inflicted on the Roman legions, once again defeating a consul, although both consuls escaped, as did much of their army. Once again, Hannibal had shown himself to be a superior commander to his Roman opponents, and this time the Legions had also been defeated. However, far worse was to come for Rome.
The river crossing is also the location of an alternative route of the Via Francigena. Pilgrims coming from northern countries of Europe preferred to walk along Val Trebbia and stop in Bobbio, which is further south, where the grave of the Irish monk St. Columban was preserved. After Bobbio, they followed the “Abbots Path” to join the main road towards Pontremoli, passing through Coli, Mareto, Boccolo tassi, Bardi, Borgotaro and Passo del Borgallo to reach Pontremoli.
Arriving in Malpaga, we see signs for the “Guado”. The boatman had written on a little map this word, but I don’t understand what it means. So when I see the sign, I think we should follow the path, but my partner doesn’t believe so, he wants to go back and ask a couple standing nearby. They direct us to another path, that we realize later, in the end would have brought us to the same place had we followed the path where the sign was.
Guado we decide must mean water.
We walked across a dry river bed, and continued on the Piacenza that afternoon. We also wondered if Maria would also make it to Piacenza. She was taking the longer route along the other side of the Po River that eventually crosses over at Piacenza.
This place has a rather strange feeling, and I wondered if the history of the Battle of Trebia still lingers on even today.
