Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Appendix: Tortona | | Tortona | | Giovanni Battista Niccolini (1782–1861) |
| | (From Arnaldo da Bescia)
Translated by W. D. Howells
A HEAP of ashes now | |
| Crowneth the hill where once Tortona stood; | |
| And, drunken with her blood and with her wine, | |
| Fallen there amidst her spoil upon the dead | |
| Slept the wild beasts of Germany: like ghosts | 5 |
| Dim wandering through the darkness of the night, | |
| Those that were left by famine and the sword | |
| Hidden within the heart of thy dim caverns, | |
| Desolate city! rose and turned their steps | |
| Noiselessly towards compassionate Milan. | 10 |
| Thither they bore their swords and hopes! I see | |
| A thousand heroes born from the example | |
| Tortona gave. O city, if I could, | |
| O sacred city! upon thy ruins fall | |
| Reverently, and take them in mine arms, | 15 |
| The relics of thy brave I ’d gather up | |
| In precious urns, and from the altars here | |
| In days of battle offer to be kissed. | | | | |
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