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Rubbing It In: History’s Greatest Flexes and Ownages

Khalid Elhassan June 3, 2025 17 min

4. Rubbing it in a Rival City’s Face for Centuries

Honor and pride were on the line. The more that Bologna demanded the bucket be returned, the more adamantly Modena refused. For the smaller Modena, the refusal to return the bucket despite threats from the bigger Bologna became an expression of defiance and courage. Things escalated until Bologna and its allies amassed an army of 30,000 infantry and 2500 knights, led by Pope John XXII in person.

To face them, Modena gathered a significantly smaller force of 5000 infantry and 2800 knights. Against the odds, Modena defeated the forces of Bologna and its allies at the Battle of Zappolino, 1325. The humiliated Guelphs suffered about 3000 casualties. In a centuries-long demonstration of ownage, Modena has displayed the oaken bucket in its town hall ever since, to rub its victory in Bologna’s face.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.