| Conflict: | Battle of Crevola |
| Partof: | the Transalpine campaigns |
| Date: | April 28, 1487[1] |
| Result: | Milanese victory [2] [3] [4] |
| Combatant1: | Duchy of Milan |
| Combatant2: | Old Swiss Confederacy: Valais Lucerne |
| Commander1: | Renato Trivulzio Giberto Borromeo Giampietro Bergamino [5] [6] |
| Commander2: | Jost von Silenen Albin von Silenen [7] |
| Strength1: | 1,200 Cavalry [8] [9] 2,000 Infantry total of 3,500 troops |
| Strength2: | 6,000 Infantry [10] 1,000 Swiss joined from the Saluzzo Campaign |
| Casualties1: | Unknown |
| Casualties2: | 800-1000 killed [11] |
The Battle of Crevola was fought in the spring of 1487, between a marauding Swiss army from the Valais and Lucerne[2] [11] and troops from the Duchy of Milan,[2] for the supremacy of the Val d'Ossola (Eschental) .
In the year 1487, for unknown but petty reasons, Bishop Jost von Silenen entered into dispute with the Count of Arona,[3] whose seignory was the Duke of Milan.[12] The Knight Albin von Silenen, brother of Bishop Jost von Silenen, was appointed the leader of this military expedition.[13] As soon as the Simplon pass was passable, the Swiss crossed into the Val d'Ossola; here they were joined by another 1,000 Swiss, who were returning from Savoy.[8]
The Swiss besieged Domo, occupied the castle of Mattarella, and terribly ravaged the impoverished valleys.[2] The Duke of Milan, however, ordered the Ossolani to keep the Swiss inactive with false peace negotiations, until the duchy could dispatch a sufficient army.[12] Once the troops were assembled, they were split into three separate corps under the command of Renato Trivulzio, Count Borromeo, and Gio. Pietro Bergamino.[5] The Swiss were once again marauding in the villages of the Valle Vigezzo, when they were assaulted by the Milanese troops from three sides.[12] The Swiss formed a square and a murderous combat ensued, in which the Swiss lost 800-1000 men and all their baggage.[8] [5] The rest of the Swiss troops were allowed to flee into the impassable mountain range.[11] The corpses of the dead Swiss were desecrated by the local peasants: the heads and fingers were cut off, the heads put on pikes and the fingers used as hat decorations.[8]
Further bloodshed was however prevented, when a legation of the Old Swiss Confederacy negotiated a peace treaty with the Duchy of Milan on July 23, 1487.[2] [11] At ponte di Crevola, the Ossolani dedicated an Oratory to Martyr Saint Vitalis in honour and remembrance of this victorious battle.[5]