Verona also has a big ol' castle, the Castelvecchio, by the Scaligers. Medieval Northern Italian warfare can be incredibly monotonous. What I like about the Scaligers: later generations were involved in calendar design. ~30 years ago I added Scaliger support to @racket-lang.org! #Italy25

In R&J, "Prince Escalus" is one of the Scaligers (probably Bartolomeo della Scala) -- they were autocrats but tried to keep some kind of peace and impartial law in Verona. The violent families were "alike in dignity" -- rich and powerful on both sides. This is kind of key to the whole thing!

Joseph Scaliger was celebrated as Leiden’s “eagle in the clouds,” yet his claim to nobility—meant to secure authority and protection—drew bitter attacks. The distinguished lecturer poses a question of judgement: how do we reckon with the Scaligers’ legacy as scholars and impostors?

A question about your claim "(NB: “Julian” here refers not to Julius Cæsar as in “Julian Calendar” but to the 16th century scholar Julius Scaliger)", and my reply:

mathstodon.xyz/@gjm/1160487...

… (Although as you point out in mathstodon.xyz/@johncarlosb... the younger Scaliger might have had ulterior motive here. Just like someone once remarked that the mathematician J. J. Sylvester was particularly fond of names in “sy-”, like “syzygies” and “synthemes”. 😁)

The Della Scala family, also known as the #Scaligeri or #Scaligers, ruled #Verona during one of the most important periods in the city’s medieval history.

#DellaScala

www.italyscapes.com/blog/italian...

Eigenlijk past dat dan wel weer mooi in het verhaal van Scaligers vader Giulio Cesare Scaligero die ook niet heeft bestaan, ten minste niet met zijn verzonnen familiegeschiedenis.