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Miragliano is a powerful city-state of Tilea. [2a]

It is a bastion against the Skaven but because of its position near the Blighted Marshes, which are foetid and ridden with disease, Miragliano has often been victim to outbreaks of plague over the centuries.

Architecture

The city was not originally an Elven colony and grew up in a rambling way over many centuries. The Princes had gradually imposed an orderly plan on the city. This was initially drafted by the great Leonardo de Miragliano who was commissioned with this task by Prince Cosimo. It had taken many centuries since then to bring the plan to fruition. Each subsequent Prince and many of the merchant families endeavoured to beautify the city with palazzi, piazzas, fine bridges and sculptures.

Miragliano is bisected by several broad and elegant canals and many other narrow ones. The populace used these as streets and so there was a constant flow of traffic, with ornate barges going to and fro through the city, under its many bridges. However, these canals could become smelly and make the city vulnerable to plagues. Besides this, the canals do, of course, make easy ways into the city for Skaven agents. To guard against this there were canal gates, each blocked by a huge iron portcullis and guarded by rat-catchers.

Defences

The defences of Miragliano featured several tall towers which were built to give a view far across the flat landscape. Unfortunately, because of the unstable nature of the ground, most of these were leaning at awkward angles. However, thanks to the exceptional engineering skills of the architects (Leonardo among them) these towers did not fall down. Indeed, Miragliano had set a fashion in architecture which has been copied in other cities, especially Luccini where the Princes are renowned for their great sense of humour. Now every city either boasts its own leaning tower or aspires to have one. Only in Tilea could such a thing happen! Borgio once commented that executed men look so much better hanging from a leaning tower. He should know! He would often execute his opponents a dozen at a time. It is said that the weight made the towers lean over a couple more degrees during his rule.

The defences of Miragliano were strong and utilised the marshy nature of the countryside. The moat is very wide and the walls were specially designed to give maximum advantage to artillery. This was all the work of the genius Leonardo, before he entered service with the Emperor.

History

The Red Pox of 1812 IC was the worst pestilence, wiping out three quarters of the population of the city.An infestation of large rats was blamed, and since then the city had employed professional rat-catchers among its mercenary troops. As well as exterminating rats, the rat-catchers fought running battles against Skaven Gutter Runners. No one knows exactly where the Skaven come from, except that there are many of them in and around the fringes of the Blighted Marshes. A high price was placed on their heads, dead or alive. Since the Red Pox, large parts of the old, squalid city were rebuilt by the Princes of Miragliano.

During the reign of Borgio, he founded several Dogs of War Regiments of Renown for specialisized work including Braganza's Besiegers or the Galloper Guns of Bronzino. The Marksmen of Miragliano recruit only in this city and Vespero's Vendetta - famed duellists - worked for Borgio until his mysterious assassination, that took place in his own bathtub.

End Times

Fall of Miragliano

The good fortune of the city was not to last, however - a massive Skaven force from the Blighted Marshes crushed a defending mercenary army and sacked the city of Miragliano in 2522 IC. The disgraced former Imperial Count Leopold von Stroheim - once an aspirant to the lordship of the fledgling province of Neuland on the island of Albion - led the remants of the defeeated force through the Blighted Marshes until cornered and destroyed by a force led by Warlord Quickpaw and Grey Seer Squelch. While it is likely that the great city will eventually be rebuilt, further information has not yet been revealed as to its fate.

Locations

  • Grand Chapal of Manann: The first was built not long after the Empire was formed. Admiral Ludovico Dandola created an even more magnifcent chapel from treasure seized from an Arabyan Corsair in the mid 1800s IC. [3a] It is a huge colonnaded Elven influenced structure with frescoes of the god and his aquatic subjects. Leonardo da Miragliano himself created the famous staue of Manann in his dolphin pulled chariot with Naiads and other sea creaures. Ingeniously, the pool in which it stands has small waves that lap against the statue. [3b]

Notable

The Princes of Miragliano had always been patrons of learning and science as much as art, if not more so. Being so close to the mountain passes, and in past centuries under some threat from Bretonnia and the Empire, the Princes had been especially concerned with warfare and defences. It is no surprise that not only Leonardo da Miragliano, but also Borgio the Besieger began their careers in this city.

Subsidary Settlements

  • Amato: A large village well knwon for its springs. [2a]
  • Campogrotta: Very large village at the end of the Alimento Tunnel and with its own small community of Dwarfs. [2a]
  • Cammaro: Village. [2a]
  • Etobrutti: Village that exports grain. [2a]
  • Mironia: Village. [2a]
  • Parmis: Village. [2a]
  • Ravola: Town famed for its vineyards. [2a]
  • Toscania: Large vilage with a Dwarf trading post. [2a]
  • Udolpho: A strange, haunted estate. [2a]
  • Zeluco: Well defended fortress noted for its labyrinthine dungeons. [2a]

Sources

  • Stillman, N., Pirinen, T., Wigley, J. 1998. Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War. Nottingham: Games Workshop Ltd. ISBN 1-872372-02-3
  • Fall of Miragliano, UK White Dwarf no. 266.
  • Vermintide, UK White Dwarf no. 268.
The city-states of Tilea
Tobaro - Miragliano - Trantio - Pavona - Remas - Verezzo - Luccini - Sartosa - Vedenza